Struggling SRH looks to revive fortunes against a sprightly GT

Travis Head needs to rediscover his top form as Sunrisers Hyderabad looks to return to winning ways.
| Photo Credit: K.R. DEEPAK

Bottom-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad’s faltering attack-at-will approach will face another big test when it hosts the sprightly Gujarat Titans at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Sunday.

Its ultra-aggressive entertaining style, at the risk of surviving only as folklore, has been found out with teams exposing big chinks in its formidable armour. For all the talk of SRH breaching 300, it has failed to cross 200 (190 vs Lucknow Super Giants, 163 vs Delhi Capitals) and, most recently, even 150 (120 vs Kolkata Knight Riders).

Lost in the endless talk of its batters coming undone is a bowling unit that has allowed itself to be walked on. Sunrisers’ illustrious bowling arsenal has unfortunately been bleeding runs. While glimpses of brilliance from Zeeshan Ansari and Kamindu Mendis are encouraging, they need support from a pace lineup that’s being smacked for over 100 runs in every game.

Ironically, for the Titans, home favourite Mohammed Siraj will be one to watch out for, as he comes into this contest on the back of one of his finest IPL spells — 3 for 19 against former side Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

While Rashid Khan’s economy rate poses concerns, Prasidh Krishna’s miserly ways and consistency from the likes of Ishant Sharma and Sai Kishore should boost GT’s hopes of embarrassing SRH further. With Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler in fine form, the batting order has settled into a rhythm too.

GT enjoys the upper hand in this rivalry, but SRH will hope to return to winning ways with a raucous home crowd behind it.