Sunrisers Hyderabad has played some impressive brand of cricket in the ongoing season of Vivo IPL. Courtesy their remarkable performance, Hyderabad is at the top of the points table with seven wins under their belt in the ten games played so far. In the absence of David Warner, Kane Williamson has taken up the responsibility of leading the side and has handled his troops pretty well so far.
Ahead of the tournament, Hyderabad regular skipper, David Warner got ruled out due to his involvement in the infamous ball-tampering saga a month and a half ago.
However given SRH’s performance in the season so far, they haven’t really missed the services of Warner.
Here look at possible reasons which haven’t made SRH or their fans realize the absence of David Warner.
The presence of Kane Williamson
The New Zealander has handled his troops quite brilliantly over the past four weeks. He had led the team from the front.
Williamson has also been a prolific run-scorer in this season so far. He has made some brilliant changes in crunch situation which has eventually helped their franchise pull off some incredible victories.
In the match against the Mumbai Indians, Hyderabad posted a below par total of 119 in their allotted 20 overs. However, they managed to bowl Mumbai out for just 87 runs. In the end, the bowling changes in crucial time did matter for the former champions.
Shikhar Dhawan taking responsibility at the top of the order
In the absence of David Warner, Dhawan needed to step upto the plate and take more responsibility. He did just that and began the tournament with a couple of exceptional knocks.
The southpaw looked in sublime touch and made stroke-making look ridiculously easy.
However, following his injury in the match against Mumbai Indians, his form has dipped a little. However, Dhawan picked pace in the previous encounter. He will continue to be one of the major forces for Hyderabad, as the tournament reaches its business end.
Middle order providing much-needed stability
There is no doubt about the fact that Warner is one of the best batsmen especially in the shortest format going around. Hence replacing him wasn’t a cup of tea for anyone.
Hyderabad needed to start well and the middle order also needed to take that added responsibility. They have taken up the challenge and has performed on most occasions.
Manish Pandey has slowly started getting back to form. Meanwhile, Yusuf Pathan has also looked in good touch and was instrumental in Hyderabad’s win over the Delhi Daredevils in the previous match.
The exceptional performance of the bowlers
The Hyderabad bowlers have been the best among all the other franchises in the tournament so far. They defended three pretty low scores, courtesy some exceptional bowling.
The Afghan sensational Rashid Khan has been as effective as the previous year if not more. Even in the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the Hyderabad bowlers restricted.
Siddharth Kaul has also been a wicket-taking option for Williamson. Sandeep Sharma has also been quite impressive.
