Former England captain Michael Vaughan fears the worst for SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) bowlers in the ongoing 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Pat Cummins-led side came up short against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, and this defeat put SRH’s batting approach under the scanner.
The approach of going bang bang from ball No.1 did not come off against Rishabh Pant and co, leading to SunRisers losing the match comprehensively. SunRisers posted a below-par total of 190/9 in the allotted twenty overs, and the visitors chased the target down in the 17th over with five wickets in hand. Nicholas Pooran and Mitchell Marsh smashed the SRH bowlers all around the park as LSG chased down the total with 23 balls to spare.
After the defeat, Vaughan said SunRisers need to be careful about how they play to ensure their bowlers do not lose confidence by playing on ‘roads’. The likes of Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa and Mohammed Shami have leaked runs in the first two matches as their skill with the ball has been neutralised by the batting-friendly track at Uppal.
“Obviously, we talk about Hyderabad’s batting, the power, and the huge scores they get. They’ve got to be careful that the bowlers don’t lose confidence. You know, because their bowlers are bowling on this road. You look at those numbers. I mean, Pat Cummins has done well tonight, but he went for 60 in the first game,” Vaughan told Cricbuzz.
“Zampa’s been destroyed, really, tonight. Shami’s gone at 12 today. So you’ve got to be careful with your bowling attack, that they don’t just bowl on roads in your home venue, and then you suddenly get on there, and you’re expecting them to deliver, and they’re not full of confidence,” he added.
‘You don’t win tournament by playing one style of cricket’
Vaughan also advocated for SunRisers to be flexible in their batting approach and play according to the situation. He believes the game’s outcome could have been different had SRH played smartly against Lucknow.
In the first match of the season in Hyderabad, SRH blasted 286/6 in 20 overs against Rajasthan Royals and went on to win the contest by 44 runs.
“I’m yet to see a team with a major event playing just one style of cricket. I’m just worried that the Sunrisers just play this one style of cricket, and they might just have to go up and down at the gears. Yes, go aggressive when you can, but it might not be possible every time you go out to bat,” said Vaughan.
“And tonight, they fell short because they were ultra-aggressive. They had a little bit of fortune, but they were ultra-aggressive. And if they played a little bit smarter, would they have got 220, 230? Again, that’s hindsight. But I’ve not seen a team yet win a franchise league or a national major tournament by playing just one style of cricket,” he added.