“We’re attempting to find a winning combination.” We appear to be getting it, at least in the bowling department. Those guys have raised their hands in nearly every match. We simply failed them with the bat.” This is how Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Brian Lara summarized the team’s performance in the IPL 2023 so far. With only six points from nine games, the 2016 champions are second from the bottom of the points standings. They have only won one of their last five matches, and the main reason for their declining stock this season has been their inability to make an impact with the bat.
Even in their most recent match, on Thursday (May 4), Sunrisers fell short with the bat, finishing with 166 in a chase of 172, with Varun Chakaravarthy defending eight in the final over. Lara believes that early wickets and a lack of partnerships have harmed the Sunrisers, and he believes that match awareness is required to complement their aim.
“We keep dropping wickets in the powerplay.” That always costs you something. We asked [Heinrich] Klaasen, who has been batting quite well for us, to repeat all of the hard work. He comes in at No. 6, and we have five strong guys ahead of him. It’s always been a challenge, but not an uphill one. Obviously, the batters would understand that it was their obligation to win the game on such a good batting track, and we were unable to do so. I just think we need to put a little more emphasis on partnerships and knowing a little bit more match awareness. It’s fantastic to be forceful and full of intent. But you’ll need to utilize some upstairs to get the job done.
The Sunrisers got off to a good start in the chase, scoring 53 in the powerplay, but they also lost three wickets. The innings was revived by a 70-run stand off 47 balls between Klaasen and skipper Aiden Markram. However, the departure of the set batters, combined with a fine death spell from Varun CV, resulted in SRH’s sixth loss.
When questioned if the SRH hitters should have done better against spin, Lara responded, “They are quality spinners and we’re seeing that as a trend, the spinners are coming into play as the tournament progresses.” We attempt to maximize the powerplay and see how much we can get out of it. Actually, we won the powerplay. It’s simply that we lost a couple of wickets, and Narine and Chakaravarthy are both world-class spinners.
“At that point, perhaps understanding what was required.” Markram and Klaasen did put on a solid partnership, and we got back into the game with a few of big overs before losing a couple of wickets at a critical juncture of the game. I wouldn’t call it a weakness against spin or anything. I just thought we had a game to win. “We have to hold our hands up and say they didn’t beat us, but we lost the game,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Harry Brook was dismissed for a duck for the second time in a row and hasn’t done much since his century against the Knight Riders a few weeks ago. Lara stated that it is up to Brook to figure out what is wrong with him, and that he and the other members of the coaching staff are always available to listen and assist him.
“Harry puts up a lot of effort in the nets. He smacks a lot of balls and appears to be in fantastic shape in the nets. When you see him batting and preparing for the game, he appears to be in good shape. Harry will have to figure out what’s wrong. I’m always available to listen or offer advice when needed. In Hemang, we also have a batting coach. So we have the components to collaborate with any of the players. If Harry improves, it will be a huge boost to the team.”
