Can the Sunrisers Hyderabad do it again?

Popularly known as “Orange Army”, the Sunrisers Hyderabad surprised a few people and they won’t admit it, but deep down, they even surprised themselves by clinching their first-ever Indian Premier League title by beating Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final. Their incarnation in IPL was back in 2013 when they caught everyone’s attention by including some big guns in their squad.

However, in 2016, Sunrisers Hyderabad didn’t put a foot wrong and managed to upstage other teams. From Warner’s consistency with the willow to Mustafizur’s ability with the ball to their fielding, SRH ticked all the boxes and played with the right intent and fortitude. With two in two in season 10, the expectations have risen to a higher stratum and have a massive task to defend their acclaimed IPL trophy.

There would be few things which SRH will have to do right to be able to defend their title:

Captain to play a major role

The Australian star David Warner again has a responsibility on his shoulders to lead his team from the front as he has always been a crucial player for their side from the time he joined the franchise, He sets the tone for the coming batsmen by building the foundation at the top.

Warner was at his best in last season of IPL scoring over 800 runs in 17 matches with a blistering average of over 60. With nine half-centuries on his back and an astonishing strike rate of over 150, he has the most pertinent role to play in this season.

As a leader, he assesses the condition really well, has good temperament on the field and sticks to his plans. Also, leadership saw him change his batting style and made him a more reliable batsman top of the order.

With the presence of in-form players Yuvraj Singh and Moises Henriques in the middle order, both of them have started off this year’s IPL in fine fashion. With a blistering knock of 62 in the opener by Yuvraj and the consistency shown by Henriques with the bat, adds the cherry to the cake and will be a huge boost for their side.

Core has to deliver again

SRH has time and again told that a good bowling attack is more lethal than a power packed batting line up which is led by the left-arm fast bowler, Ashish Nehra who has the ability to bowl at the death. Then there is last year’s ‘purple cap’ holder Bhuvneshwar Kumar who can swing the ball both ways. The Indian Pace duo has given a hard time to the opposition in the past and with already having 7 wickets between them in this season, are expected to shut the door of opposition this time as well.

Last year, the X-factor for Sunrisers Hyderabad was the speedster Mustafizur Rahaman who impressed everyone with his ability to bowl at the death. In this season it would be expected by Afghanistan’s teenager, Rashid Khan who was bought for 4 crores in IPL player auction and has impressed everyone with his brilliant leg-spin bowling. He can provide a killer edge and be the surprising element for this year’s IPL and help Sunrisers to defend their title. Till now, he has played two matches for SRH and picked up 5 wickets with an economy of just under 7. On the other hand, Chris Jordan has added more options to an already dangerous looking bowling line up.

All-rounders provide stability

Apart from the bowling and batting, SRH has a good bunch of all-rounders which provide stability to their side. The likes of Yuvraj Singh, Moises Henriques and Ben Cutting lend a terrific balance to their lineup. These players have been the pillars of their national sides and are expected to deliver in every situation.

Adding 32-year-old all-rounder, Mohammad Nabi can give them stability lower down the order.

Can they defend?

On Paper, Sunrisers Hyderabad looks the most balanced side and has made the right choices while picking the players in IPL Auction who can play in any extreme situation. An energetic youth and good blend of experienced players provide them a greater depth as compared to the other teams.

With all the permutation and combination falling in the right place and keeping the core of the side which won last year, they seem to be on a right track and saying it loud that they have arrived for defending their title.