As this IPL has progressed, Sunrisers Hyderabad has been the side to beat! After beginning their campaign on the back of consecutive losses, the Sunrisers roared back in style with 3 consecutive wins. The driving force behind Sunrisers’ aggression has been none other than skipper David Warner, with scores of 58, 13, 90*, 74* and 59 in this edition of the IPL so far.
Ahead of their game against a faltering Rising Pune Supergiants unit, team mentor VVS Laxman was full of optimism. The former Indian batsman was quite confident about his team’s chances and said that the balance within the Sunrisers outfit gave them the edge over other sides. In his interaction with the media, Laxman stated that the depth in Sunrisers’ batting was a crucial aspect.
“The depth in our batting is something which we were very conscious about when we went into the auction. Because in the last two years we were top heavy and we didn’t have enough firepower in the middle-order. Whereas if you see now, Naman Ojha came in at No. 7 in the last match, Moises at No. 6, Deepak at No. 5 and Morgan at No. 4. So I think we have got enough depth in our batting, plus we have got bowlers like Bipul, Karn, Bhuvneshwar who can also bat. So I think we are very pleased. We are very fortunate to have a very flexible and formidable batting line-up,” said Laxman.
Emphasizing on stable contributions from the top order, Laxman said that it was the duty of the top 3 to provide a flying start. “The top three batsmen are very crucial in T20 format. They give the momentum for the later batsmen to come and express themselves. They create a foundation where everyone can come and play their natural game. But the moment you lose wickets in the first six overs, then you are always under pressure. I think the way Shikhar played in the last two games, gives us a lot of confidence and he’s an impact player and a match-winner. I am sure he is only going to get better and better and Warner is in exceptional form. I think it’s important to continue the good work. The more good opening partnerships we have, we’ll be in a better position to do well as a batting unit,” said Laxman.
Laxman also praised the bowling display by the Sunrisers’ bowlers and said, “Because we’ve got a good bowling attack, we look to restrict the opposition and then back our batsmen to go out and get that score. But it totally depends on the conditions and it varies from ground to ground. But here we have seen probably the best wicket in the competition so far, so more often than not I think we will look to chase.”