For Sunrisers Hyderabad, the middle order is perhaps their biggest weakness . For a team that has two explosive overseas openers and one of...
For Sunrisers Hyderabad, the middle order is perhaps their biggest weakness. For a team that has two explosive overseas openers and one of the most versatile bowling attacks, the lack of depth in the batting department is unmissable.
Which is why the game-changing knocks by young Priyam Garg and Abhishek Sharma in the victory against Chennai Super Kings on Friday will be immensely satisfying for the men in orange.
Hyderabad were troubled by the middle order during last year’s Indian Premier League as well. David Warner and Jonny Bairstow set the stage alight with their strokeplay at the top of the order but once they left for national duty, the Sunrisers couldn’t cope and got knocked-out in the eliminator.
And the same weakness proved costly for them in the first two games of IPL 2020 too. Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh got ruled out of the tournament after an injury in the opener, which once again exposed the lack of options for SRH at the death.
In the first game, chasing 164 against Royal Challengers Bangalore, SRH were 121/3 in the 16th over. From there, they suffered a dramatic collapse and were all-out for 153.
In the next game, Manish Pandey scored a 38-ball 51 at No 3 but Wriddiman Saha’s 31-ball 30 stifled the innings and...
