IPL 10, SRH v RCB: Sunrisers Hyderabad Player Ratings

There was no better way for the tenth edition of the IPL to start as the two sides from the South of India encountered each other after the memorable IPL final. Memorable, definitely for the Sunrisers Hyderabad but quite a setback for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Today was no different. RCB was on the receiving end again this time as SRH decided to show that they’re the Defending Champions for a reason, in a brilliant way. And, RCB just looked like things could not get worse for them as they start in a rather unfortunate way.

Watson, the interim captain won the toss and chose to field first. While RCB on most days could associate itself with a victory when chasing, but the momentum and their dull performances wrote another script for the clash of South. Sunrisers dominated at their home ground, and their players shined. A debut in the form of Rashid Khan, Ashish Nehra’s return, Warner’s captaincy, Vintage Yuvi and a Henrique-special dominated the scoreboard too.

208 as a target was never going to be easy to chase but credit to SRH bowlers for hardly give the RCB batsmen to settle. A 35-run defeat was pretty inevitable for RCB despite Gayle and Jadhav’s short-termed heroics, more so because of their fielding and uneconomical bowling.

Here, we look at the performance of the players of the winning Team, and rate them according to that:

David Warner- 5.5/10

After a few early hits, it looked like his Test form did not have to do anything here. But, he clearly has work to do with the bat. Warner was dismissed for less than fifty for the first time against RCB with a mere 14 off 8. While, there is not much to discuss about the batting, the captaincy is what wins the points,

However, his leadership was pretty much the reason for SRH’s upper hand over their opponents in the second innings too. Extremely well-used bowling changes, for instance, bringing on Bipul Sharma to experiment with Gayle. It worked, and how! His electric presence while fielding was definitely a motivation for his boys, as well.

Shikhar Dhawan- 7/10

Despite the early departure of his opening partner, Dhawan made it count and remained on the field to score 45 off 31. It was known that he would be looking to make a comeback during the IPL because it’s an opportunity to consolidate his place in the Champions Trophy. And he marked his arrival in the opening match itself.

A good start for the Team was necessary and he laid down the foundation for them with his vital knock. So, the fact remains, not being able to convert that into a personal milestone- a fifty, matters but his contribution was definitely among the factors for Sunrisers’ dominance.

Moises Henriques- 8/10

Henriques joined the act by doing a near perfect job at the No. 3 spot. Came in early after Warner’s dismissal and went on to score 52 off 37 balls. What mattered more was the fact that his stroke play was combined with some sensible big hitting. To not lose a wicket at that stage was important, and he held on to it.

Unarguably, he sucked the momentum out of the opposition with the bat. But, also tried to work things out with the ball as he conceded 20 runs in 2 overs, though he remained wicketless. A decent all-round performance accounts for the good ratings.

Yuvraj Singh- 9/10

We saw glimpses of Vintage Yuvi in the series against England and we knew a storm was coming. But, a storm like this was beyond excellence. Though it’s early to say this, but It’s highly likely that he would be picked for the Champions Trophy after this particular knock. This was his fastest IPL fifty, a total 62 off 27 balls- An absolute carnage in a nutshell.

“ I’ve been working a lot more on my batting. I’ve been working on the short ball and the slower ball and have been trying to hit in the V. I was lucky today, got dropped. But I’ve been playing the short ball well,” Yuvraj said in the post match presentation and he justifies that. The only point lost is due to the one chance he gave, that was eventually dropped.

Deepak Hooda- 6.5/10

He had to do well to finish the match, and he did. 16* off 12 was quite alright. He ensured that SRH cross the 200 mark and to end the innings with a six is always a psychological pressure for the opposition. In a format where every run matters, that six holds immense value.

In his one over in which he dismissed the danger-man, Gayle deserves a special mention as well. Had Gayle stayed on for some more time, it would have been a close match for RCB, if not a sure shot winning one. A decent all-round performance justified his presence in the Playing XI.

Ben Cutting- 6/10

His 16 off six, towards the end, including two maximums too ensured SRH’s safe sailing towards the big total they posted. Though, he initially seemed to have troubled the batsmen, he got slightly easy to read and was hit for 35 runs with no wickets.

Apart from the bowling troubles today, Cutting justified the tag as that of the firepower that SRH needs. His performance in the 2016 Final against the same opposition is a reminder of that.

Naman Ojha- 4/10

Since he did not have to bat, his wicket-keeping skills are the only consideration here. They were pretty decent except for the one easy catch he could not take. What is more disappointing is the fact that in the same process, he stopped his fellow teammate to not claim it, eventually giving the batsman one more life.

Bipul Sharma- 4/10

Again, since he did not have to bat, his bowling performances is the aspect in consideration. He bowled only one over and conceded just 4 runs and also claimed a wicket. He dismissed Sachin Baby as he scored just 1 run. After this wicket, there was no coming back from RCB. It was probably what toppled the lower order too, an easy collapse after that.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar- 6.5/10

Last year’s Purple Cap holder entered and troubled the RCB openers initially. The bat v ball between him and Gayle in the first few overs was interesting, more so because Gayle hardly scored in the first few balls. The 16^th over during which he bowled was extremely good. It was the same one in which he dismissed Stuart Binny.

With figures 2/27, Bhuvi was also the most economical among those who bowled 4 overs. There were brief moments where he showed that he was the Purple Cap holder for a reason.

Rashid Khan- 6/10

It was quite a debut for the first Afghani to play in the IPL. He bowled a quicker wrong ‘un and made sure that Mandeep did not pick it. It was his maiden wicket and also the Team’s first wicket in the innings. It was vital to break a slowly-building partnership for the openers and he left them undone quickly. It was followed by taking the big wicket of Travis Head in the 12^th over, which made sure that the middle order did not settle either.

However, despite the two wickets he must keep track of his economy rate. With 36 conceded in 4 overs, he had an ER of 9.00. Apart from that, he is a deck-hitting bowler and slightly new for the batsmen to read, he must utilize that.

Ashish Nehra- 6/10

Age is just a number for Nehra. He makes his presence felt with his experience with the ball. He was on a hatrick at one point of time. The Yorker bowled to dismiss Aravind was the highlight of his 4 overs. He left the tail undone but he also took the wicket of skipper Watson, which was perhaps the last nail in RCB’s coffin.

Though his economy rate soars upto 10.50, with 42 runs conceded, his wickets count. However, since bowlers in this format are expected to keep things miserly, and tight, in other words, perhaps, Nehra ji could figure something out in that aspect.