SRH just does not seem to buy a win as they lost their third game in four matches, and this time it was to PBKS in New Chandigarh. The visitors came out all guns blazing and looked good to bat the Kings out of the game, but they were pegged back to still a substantial total. But the bowling, which was a concern, was exposed yet again as the hosts cruised to a 6-wicket win with more than an over to spare. SRH had their moments, but failed when it mattered the most. We will try to list out three reasons for their loss to PBKS.
Failing to sustain momentum after Abhishek Sharma’s special pegs SRH back
SRH were put into bat first by PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer. But the Orange army came off the blocks quickly and decimated the wayward bowling dished out inside the powerplay by PBKS bowlers. Abhishek Sharma put on a show and dominated the powerplay phase, while Travis Head complemented him really well. It was Abhishek all the way in the partnership, while Head was doing his bit as well.
To put things into perspective, SRH were 105/0 in 6 overs, and at this stage, we felt that perhaps 250 was on the cards. The Orange Army were 120/0 in 8 overs before the introduction of Shashank Singh, who did the job for the home side as both Head and Abhishek got out in the same over. Once Abhishek fell in the 9th over, SRH can say they lost their way a little bit.
The batters following the two openers got starts like Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen, but they failed to sustain the momentum. From a score of possible 250+, SRH were pegged back to 219, which was still a good score, but as we found out later, it was inadequate. Considering the composition of the team and weak bowling attack, SRH cannot afford to lose track with the bat in hand and must aim to score those 20-30 extra runs in order to help their bowlers. They cannot defend par scores, and that is the reality. This is something they need to work on.
Inability to stop Shreyas Iyer’s masterclass comes back to bite SRH
PBKS, much like their opponents, got off to a blistering start inside the first 6 overs of powerplay. The duo of Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh complemented each other well and put on a show with both players playing exquisite cricketing shots. The duo made sure that PBKS reached 95/0 in 6 overs, and 99 runs were put up for the first wicket. After that, the wickets started to fall as both openers were dismissed to give Hyderabad hope.
But then, captain Shreyas Iyer had other ideas as he read the situation and let his mind work like a computer and played his shots accordingly. He got himself in initially and then accelerated when the time came for him to do so. Thereafter, he played some delightful shots down the ground and behind square, keeping everyone entertained out there. He made sure that the required rate remained under control and not very high.
The bowling lacked incisiveness and creativity, and the Orange Army needs to come up with better plans with the ball in hand if they want to qualify for the playoff stage. They were weak even with Pat Cummins in the squad, but now weaker with him not there. Iyer had a field day as he dominated the bowlers. He did not have to break a sweat, something that will concern SRH’s management for sure.
Little or no support for Shivang Kumar seals the fate of the side
SRH bowling struggled under the sun on a belter of a track, as PBKS, despite chasing 220, were going in cruise control mode at one stage. There were no wickets that fell in the powerplay like the first innings, and a couple fell a bit later on. But amidst the doom and gloom for SRH, one man stood out and fought hard alone for the team. His name was Shivang Kumar. Kumar fought against all odds and under pressure as well.
He picked up the first three wickets of the innings to fall to give SRH some hope in the contest. He dismissed the explosive two openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh and also accounted for the wicket of Cooper Connolly. But what he needed was support from the others. He got no support or little support from the other bowlers. Yes, Harsh Dubey got Wadhera towards the end, but the rest of the bowling lacked teeth. Experienced bowlers like Harshal Patel and Impact Player Jaydev Unadkat were taken to the cleaners.
Even Eshan Malinga went for plenty of runs. The fact of the matter is, SRH lacks in the bowling department. Bowlers win you tournaments, while batters will win you a few games. The experienced fast bowlers have gone for plenty for SRH. SRH has to improve their bowling by leaps and bounds if they want to do well and go deep in the tournament. Batting is working fine, but to ask them to score 250+ to get wins could be asking for too much. The senior players in the bowling department need to step up now.
What Lies Ahead
So, SRH will return to Hyderabad, where they will host table-toppers Rajasthan Royals on Monday evening, while Punjab Kings will be back in action next week. We have two games coming our way on this Super Sunday. First up, it’s LSG vs GT from Lucknow at 3:30 PM IST. Then, it is the big one where icons collide as MI hosts RCB from Mumbai at 7:30 PM IST. Two good games are coming our way.
We will wait and watch to see which teams come out on top in these fixtures.
Also Read: PBKS VS SRH: Shreyas Iyer’s Blistering Knock Smashes SRH.