As the cricket carnival is around the corner again, the 2016 Champions of the Indian Premier League Sunrisers Hyderabad are ready to give their best in the field following their spectacular all-round performances – to take their team to a new high after spending massive bucks – to make the unit stronger for the upcoming fast-paced cricket festival which is a adrenaline charge for the fans in nutshell.
Sunrisers Hyderabad is a top-notch side in the reckoning as they made their Indian Premier League entry in 2013 after Deccan Chargers was ousted due to pending dues with the IPL and its administration.
Deccan Chargers lifted the trophy in 2009 when they beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by six runs in which legendary off-spinner Anil Kumble claimed four wickets after conceding 16 runs to get nominated as Man of the Final.
Sunrisers Hyderabad has been introduced to seven competitive teams as it had developed into a significant unit over the years, before clinching their maiden title in the 9th edition of the lucrative Twenty20 league under the tutelage of pocket size dynamo David Warner, who has been one of the show-stoppers in the subcontinent during his IPL stint.
Sunrisers Hyderabad has played 62 IPL matches in which they had achieved the winning percentage of 54.03 so far after emerging victorious in 33 matches and eventually losing out in 28 games which have also a win on its back in a super-over tie against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2013 in Hyderabad.
Australian import and all-rounder Ben Cutting was the superman for his team as he had picked two crucial wickets after scoring valuable 39 runs in helping Hyderabad to become the champions of 2016 IPL season.
In 2016, Sunrisers Hyderabad has played 14 matches in a group stage in which they had won eight games and lost six.
Strength To Rely On: While going through their batting line-up at the top, it has the balanced batting unit with the likes of explosive batsman David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan, who both had given interesting starts to their side as they had all the strokes in their zone to unnerve any sought-after bowler for the opposition.
Sunrisers have been banking on their form as Warner looked rusty during the ongoing series against India. However, the different ball-game eventually would lit up eyes of the hitting sensation to be among scores quickly for his team.
In the recently concluded IPL Players’ Auction, Sunrisers strengthened their bench by availing the services of leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who has become the talk of the town for his splendid performances for his national side Afghanistan in the recent past.
The strength further solely is based on the set of all-rounders Hyderabad have had got in the form of Yuvraj Singh, Moises Henriques and Ben Cutting, who played the significant role in the last season.
While showing the utmost faith in his young team, David Warner has shown the positive approach by including the senior cricketers into the discussion which has yielded results.
Sunrisers’ beacon of hope is their best bowling department which has swing, bounce and wily customers at the disposal, who literally make their team’s day with sheer pace – to send down handy four overs in the exciting contest.
Sunrisers’ bowlers have the ability to defend the par scores as they have also availed the services of young packer Mohammad Siraj, who could be seen as a surprise for their opponents.
Sunrisers in the past banked on the services of some quality seamers in the form of Mushtafizur Rahman and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who bowled with immaculate line and the length and would be eyeing to register another glory for his side. However, Rahman is yet to receive permission from its Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), to feature in the tenth edition of IPL.
Both proved to be the vital cog while sending down the death overs with such delicacy and they have been doing it for quite long in the fast-paced T20 games.
Weakness in the Team: As Sunrisers have qualified for the group eliminator stage in 2013, it remained down the ladder of the IPL table in 2014 and 2015 edition of IPL, as their weakness remained middle-order batting which in between kept on losing the track and there would be the main focus to overcome the setbacks which they had witnessed in the recent past particularly while chasing down the target.
Opportunity: As they have been going through hard at everyone, the Sunrisers are expected to reach the playoffs of the tenth edition of IPL while having a lot on offer with the bat and a ball as rookie fast bowler Mohammad Siraj has a grand opportunity to shine against the different set of batsmen. The 23-year-old Siraj was bought by Hyderabad in INR 2.6 crore.
To attune the youngsters, Tom Moody and VVS Laxman would be aiming to give their side a boost by picking up the young prospects in a bid to shape up their career as Warner would be proving his mantle at the ground while marshalling his troops.
Threat Looms Large: The aggressive attitude could also lead to a debacle which is being termed as ‘overconfidence’ while having Australian ushered as a prime minister in the team such things could be expected.
Loss of early wickets could unsettle the Playing XI.
There are few players whose absence might hurt the Sunrisers side especially in away games on the flat surfaces.