Performance analysis of the top 4 teams of IPL 10

#3 Sunrisers Hyderabad

The defending champions ended up on the third spot on the points table and now have a chance for another shot at the title. They collected 17 points from 14 matches with 8 wins and 5 losses and one game of theirs was washed out. They had a net run rate of +0.599 which was the third best amongst the top 4. Although they were always in the upper half of the table yet they got their berth confirmed only after winning the last game against Gujarat Lions.

They made a good start to the tournament when they won 2 consecutive matches but a series of losses kept them on their toes. They played consistent cricket right through the season and one victory more could have given them a place in the top 2. Just like the last year, it was David Warner who was the standout batsman for them. He was the premier contributor with the bat and was well supported by Shikhar Dhawan. They had useful performances from Kane Willamson, Moises Henriques and Yuvraj Singh on occasions.

Their bowling was led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar just like the last year. But their star of 2016 – Mustafizur Rehman was missing from the playing XI for the most part of the league. He could not replicate the performances of last year this time. But they found a new hero this year in the form of Rashid Khan. The leg-spinner troubled the big names in cricket and bagged 17 wickets in 13 matches. Siddarth Kaul and Mohammed Siraj were the other two Indian pacers who did well for SRH.

Top Performers

With the bat, there is only one name that stands out and that is the captain David Warner. Last year, he was the highest run-getter for them and this year as well, he is leading the charts not only of his team but the entire league. He has amassed 604 runs so far in 13 matches at an average of 60.4 and a strike rate of 144.84 and is the proud holder of the Orange Cap. He has scored a century and 4 half-centuries and almost single-handedly took the team through to the next stage.

With the ball, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has stood up once more and shown why he is the best Indian bowler in the shortest format of the game. He has accounted for 25 wickets so far in 13 matches and has been donning the Purple Cap for quite some time. There have been no doubts about his capabilities with the new ball but he has raised his game a notch and became a reliable bowler at the death with consistent yorkers.

The Path ahead

SRH will now face KKR in the Eliminator match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on May 17. It won’t be easy for them against the strong side of KKR who have been batting oppositions out with their aggressive approach. They need to make early in-roads into the KKR line-up to beat them. If they do manage to win, they will face either RPS or MI in the second Qualifier and if they manage to win that too, they will then enter the final on their home ground. They need to win three on the trot to defend their title but the first two games will be more crucial as they win more often than not in Hyderabad.