SRH Need Smarter Bowling and Composed Batting to Come Back

Sunrisers Hyderabad are having a bad patch in IPL 2025 as they have lost four consecutive matches. They last lost to Gujarat Titans and the fans are getting anxious. Ex-India player Ambati Rayudu believes SRH are struggling more with their bowling than with their batting. He feels that they are playing too cautiously and not attempting to get wickets in the middle overs. In his opinion, they are merely attempting to prevent runs rather than applying pressure on the batsmen. Rayudu opines that during the middle overs a team must get wickets if they wish to win in the IPL. Simply preventing boundaries is not sufficient. He highlighted the way GT employ bowlers such as Rashid Khan Sai Kishore and Prasidh Krishna to take wickets and create pressure.

Up to five games SRH have achieved just 12 wickets between overs 7 and 16. Their economy rate and average in this period are among the worst. This indicates their bowling is not effective when it is most required. Rayudu further added that without quality middle overs bowling it is difficult to win in a league as tight as the IPL. The bowlers have to rise up and play more aggressively rather than playing defensively. 

Meanwhile SRH had big hopes with their batting in the beginning of the season. Many experts believed that they could even hit 300 runs in a match. They came off to a flying start with an enormous total of 286 against Rajasthan Royals but it changed afterwards. Their aggressive style of play has not been successful in recent matches. Although they scored 190 against Lucknow Super Giants their subsequent three totals were 163 120 and 152. These aren't totals to win T20 cricket and it has put pressure on their team.

One big problem is the opening pair. Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma have not provided the team with a good start. Head has played two good knocks but Abhishek has managed just 51 runs in five games. The team's best opening partnership in the last four games has been a mere 15 runs. That is not sufficient to construct a strong innings. Nevertheless, Rayudu believes Abhishek can come back. He stated Abhishek only needs a change of mindset. Rather than attempting to hit the big shots right from the beginning he can aim for gaps and singles. This will help him settle in and then attempt the big shots after that.

Rayudu also discussed how SRH top-order batsmen are attempting to hit sixes off length deliveries. They have altered their backlifts and are attempting to play big shots early in the game. But some other teams have realized this and are bowling full to them now. The SRH batsmen are continuing to attempt to hit over the infield and that is causing their downfall. According to Rayudu, the batsmen need to be a bit smarter. If the ball is full they should attempt to play through the gaps rather than play risky shots. He feels this slight change in mindset can assist them in constructing their innings more effectively.

He also mentioned that the batters have to return to fundamentals. Wait for the suitable ball play on the ground rotate the strike and establish partnerships. After they get settled they can try the big shots. But presently they are trying to play the big shots too early and that is why they are losing wickets and are not scoring big. This style has to be changed if SRH has to win games.

If Sunrisers Hyderabad are to change their season around, they must correct both bowling and batting. Their bowlers must concentrate on taking wickets in the middle overs rather than merely preventing runs. Their batsmen particularly at the top must provide a good start to the team by playing intelligent cricket. If they can turn around in these changes they still have time to recover and make a comeback strongly in IPL 2025. Rayudu's words are straightforward and simple and if the team hears them out they may just turn things around.