Kris Srikkanth opined that SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) has the edge over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) when they meet to play the eliminator on Friday. He reasoned that SRH’s current form keeps them above RCB, who are coming off after facing four defeats in a row.
In the column written for Times of India, the former chief selector was full of praise of SRH’s roller-coaster journey this season. David Warner’s team has been struggling to find a proper batting combination with having an inexperienced middle-order. They got a huge setback at the start of the tournament as their premier bowler Bhuvneswar Kumar had to move back home because of injury.
Mitchell Marsh, who was bought to solve their middle-order problem, was also ruled out because of injury. But their bowling unit got more and more lethal as the tournament moved on. Well, when they were taking off, Vijay Shankar sustained a hamstring injury and the third player of the side was sent back home.
Despite all the hurdles, they picked up the game at the right moment by replacing Jonny Bairstow with Wriddhiman Saha. The Indian wicketkeeper-batsman set the stage on fire for them and clinched back to back three victories to lock the space for them in playoffs.
Seeing the strong will and determination of SRH, Kris Srikkanth believes that they look the most dangerous side at the moment.
“Hyderabad has proved beyond doubt what an aggressive mindset can bring about. Staring at the wrong end of the barrel, they picked up their game at the right moment to register three thumping wins and by some distance look the most dangerous side at the moment. Remember, they made the cut despite losing key players to injuries during the campaign, none bigger than missing the services of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. To make top-four without a senior Indian bowler is a commendable achievement indeed,” he wrote.
Saha-Warner combination is also a double-edged sword: Kris Srikkanth
Srikkanth added that the over-reliance of SRH on Saha and Warner might also hurt on the matchday if they lose their wickets early. Although he believes Hyderabad is riding overconfidence and have the upper hand against RCB.
“The Saha-Warner combination is also a double-edged sword, if it doesn’t click on the big day, the slightly inexperienced top-order will have its work cut out. This game will be extremely difficult to predict and I am sure it will be a cracker of a contest. Hyderabad might hold a slight edge on current form,” Kris Srikkanth said.
Wriddhiman Saha and David Warner were involved in two hundred runs partnership in the last three matches. Their solid performance was the key for SRH to bring them back in the competition.