Despite assembling what looked like a formidable squad on paper, Sunrisers Hyderabad finished plum last in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL). Consequently, not many expected them to be in contention for the playoffs in the 2024 edition, but here they are, more imperturbable and unruffled than ever before, competing in the final.
Under the vitalising captaincy of Pat Cummins, Hyderabad played an invigorating brand of cricket to first finish second in the league stage, and then qualify for the final, where they will meet Kolkata Knight Riders.
Before they do that, let us have a look at five players who can play a crucial role in securing a second title for the 2016 champions:
1. Travis Head
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Considering his exploits in the 2023 Cricket World Cup, albeit it was a different format, likely considered themselves fortunate to secure Travis Head’s services for Rs 6.80 crore. In hindsight, this acquisition has certainly proven to be a steal.
The chief orchestrator in Hyderabad’s mission of breaking and creating records, Head has scored 567 runs at a staggering strike rate of 192.90 – taking the sting out of the opposition’s bowling attack before they had a chance to regroup and form a contingency plan.
He has already scored a century this season, which came against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and struck four half-centuries as well. His bat has been unusually quiet for three games in a row, which can be interpreted from two perspectives. Whilst the pessimists will state Head has run out of luck and his style of play has caught up on him, the optimists will remember what followed his last three-game slump – that century against RCB.
2. Abhishek Sharma
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Sunrisers Hyderabad have scored north of 250 runs on three occasions this season, and Head was not the sole architect of this havoc. Supporting the Aussie from the other end was an Indian youngster, who might not have matched his partner’s international experience and fame, but went toe-to-toe in terms of uninhibited hitting prowess – Abhishek Sharma.
Abhishek has scored 482 runs this season, which have come at an average of 34.42, but more impressively, at a strike rate of 207.75. Among the batters who have scored 350 runs or more, the 23-year-old boasts the highest strike rate.
Though not a century, Abhishek has scored three half-centuries this season. However, his value extends beyond his batting. Abhishek is also an adroit bowler, having triggered Rajasthan Royals’ downfall in Qualifier 2 with his left-arm orthodox spin, picking up two crucial wickets.
3. Heinrich Klaasen
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For all the pyrotechnics Sunrisers Hyderabad’s explosive ‘come hell or high water’ batting approach has provided, it has its fair share of fallacies. On the rare occasions where both Head and Abhishek depart early, the team was found wanting a saviour, considering their inexperienced middle-order. And saviour they did find, on multiple occasions, in a certain Heinrich Klaasen.
Among the more prolific players of spin currently in T20 cricket, the South African wicket-keeper batter has scored 463 runs at an average of 42.09. His strike rate of 176.04 might not as be as astonishing a figure as that of his predecessors in the batting unit, but quite often, he has had to exercise caution instead of throwing caution into the wind.
Klaasen has scored four half-centuries this season – a couple of which came when his team was treading on thin ice. He scored a 29-ball 63 against KKR when Hyderabad were precariously positioned at 111/4 in a chase of 209 runs. In the Eliminator against RR, a 34-ball 50 took SRH to a competitive total after they had slumped to 120/6.
4. Pat Cummins
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A few questions were raised when Sunrisers Hyderabad signed Pat Cummins for Rs 20.50 crore, for his numbers in IPL were not impressive, and neither were his records with Australia in this particular format. Those few questions snowballed into a barrage when he was announced as the team’s captain, for Aiden Markram had won two consecutive SA20 titles for Sunrisers Eastern Cape – the team’s South African wing.
73 matches into the competition, the questions have all been dissipated, with Cummins ‘silencing’ the doubters yet again. He has picked up 17 wickets, maintained an average of 32.23, and has conceded 9.28 runs per over. When needed, Cummins has also contributed with the bat, like his 15-ball 31 against RCB or 17-ball 35* against MI.
But focusing solely on his bowling statistics will be a disservice to the 2023 World Cup-winning captain, for more than Cummins the bowler, Cummins the leader has been influential for Hyderabad. A glimpse of his cricketing acumen was on display in the Eliminator, where Cummins laid a trap of RR’s right-handed batters using two left-arm spinners on a tricky wicket.
5. T Natarajan
Beyond the flamboyant foreigners and flashy youngsters, the resurgence of experienced Indian campaigners has also played a pivotal role in Hyderabad’s qualification to the final. A prime example of this is T Natarajan, who scalped only 10 wickets last season, but is currently the leading wicket-taker for his team in 2024 with 19 scalps.
Natarajan’s impact goes beyond the wickets column, as he also has an economy rate of 8.83 runs per over – lowest among the SRH bowlers who have bowled more than 10 overs.
Boasting a strike rate of 15.5, the left-arm seamer took a four-wicket haul against Delhi Capitals. In a match where KKR scored 208 runs, Natarajan’s figures were 3/32.
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