IPL 2018: Decoding Sunrisers Hyderabad’s bowling brilliance

When Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) lost their regular skipper David Warner to a ball-tampering fiasco in South Africa before the beginning of the eleventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), not many were ready to give the orange team much of a chance in the tournament. Warner, who also led the side to lift the trophy in 2016, was someone held synonymous with SRH’s success and his absence gave the message that both the slots of the team’s captain and premier batsman were left vacant irreparably.

Warner’s loss didn’t hurt SRH much because its strength is its bowling

But SRH had its weapon in the other pocket and it was neither captaincy nor batting but its bowling and it has clicked big time this season like the previous two to push the Sunrisers ahead of the rest. The SRH qualified for the playoffs as the first team in the 2018 edition and they still have three games to go.

In other words, the Sunrisers won six games on the trot to qualify for the last four and their bowlers have done an immense favour in this mission. The SRH have won 9 out of 11 games in the tournament so far – the most successful figures – and the two matches they lost were by 4 and 15 runs, respectively. They could fancy a cent per cent record had this game not been cricket.

SRH has conceded 150-plus scores only 4 times in IPL 11

Now, have a look at how the SRH have fared against teams in IPL 11 so far. Kane Williamson’s side has conceded scores above 150 in this tournament only 4 times, winning and losing two each while 7 times they have restricted their opponents below 150, winning each of those games.

The SRH have won four matches despite setting moderate targets (the highest being 152) and the victory margins in these games were: by 31 runs (target 119); 13 runs (target 120); 11 runs; (target 152) and 4 runs (target 147). In four other games, the SRH bowlers restricted to the opponents to scores like 125, 147, 138 and 163 to win by wickets. In one game, the SRH won by chasing a high target of 188. This gives a fair idea how much dominant have been the SRH’s bowlers in scripting their consistent victories in this IPL.

Powerplay or deaths: SRH bowlers are at it always

What’s the secret of the SRH bowlers’ magic this year? It’s simple. They are working as a team, putting the best foot forward in the key phases of the games – be it in the powerplay or death – to choke the opponent to defeat. And the team has a lot of options to choose from to do the job, giving the management and the captain a whole lot of freedom to execute the plan.

Take for example, the game against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium on April 24. After getting shot out for a paltry 118, the SRH bowlers came back at the MI batsmen hard, not allowing them more than 22 in the mandatory powerplay overs. And as the pressure started building, MI failed to live up to the expectations and got bowled out for 87, losing the game by 31 runs.

Two days later, the SRH were restricted to 132 by Kings XI Punjab at Hyderabad but when the Kings came out to bat, SRH bowlers were at their job. The powerplay period saw KXIP scoring 44 for no loss but then they fell like nine pins as the spinners – Rashid Khan (3 for 19) and Shakib al-Hassan (2 for 18) – ran through the batting order. Sandeep Sharma and Basil Thampi took four wickets among themselves and the Kings were skittled out for 119. And guess what? Bhuvneshwar Kumar didn’t play this game.

Also against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), the SRH had the last laugh even though Virat Kohli’s men required just 12 in the last over to reach the moderate target of 147. The bowler was Bhuvneshwar Kumar while the threatening Colin de Grandhomme was with the bat. But Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who bowled a brilliant last over in the series-decider T20 against South Africa a few months away in their den to give India a series victory, was as perfect this time, conceding just 6 runs in the over to give his side yet another close win. The defeat even made the perfectionist Kohli compliment the SRH as the best bowling attack this IPL.

Statistics say highly about SRH bowling

Statistics say the SRH have proved themselves to be the most miserly side between 16-20 overs the IPL games in the 2016 and 2017 edition, conceding just 9 runs an over. The next best were Delhi Daredevils with 9.58.

And in terms of wickets, while Bhuvneshwar finished as the top wicket-taker in both the 2016 and 2017 editions with a tally of 23 and 26 respectively, the SRH had four bowlers in the last two seasons who took 10 wickets or more. This again shows how much their bowling unit has clicked as a team.

This year, as many as five SRH bowlers feature in the top 25 (only MI have so many in the top 25) and of those five, three are pacers (Bhuvneshwar, Siddarth Kaul and Sandeep Sharma) while two are spinners (Rashid and Shakib). They have taken 53 wickets among themselves which means the opponents have very little room to score in the entire 20-over period against the SRH.

In terms of dot balls, Rashid has conceded 106 so far (a unique century no doubt) while Kaul has given 88. Three SRH bowlers have found themselves among the top 10, registering most dot balls in an innings five times (Rashid and Sandeep 2 times each; Billy Stanlake once).

If we look at the best average the SRH bowlers have registered, bowlers like Basil Thampi and part-timers like Yusuf Pathan too have found their names prominent in the list.

SRH have always found good bowlers

While Bhuvneshwar Kumar has consistently done the job for the SRH, a special mention must be made about the other bowlers who have also extended the much-needed support on a regular basis over the years. Siddharth Kaul, who has 13 wickets this season so far along with Rashid, was one of the Sunrisers’ top asset in the 2017 edition (a tally of 16 wickets) and he hasn’t let down his captain whenever he has been asked to bowl – be it in the powerplay, middle overs, semi-death or death overs. The bowler from Punjab is never afraid to come back at the batsman even if he gets hit for an odd boundary or two and his consistent pressure on the batsmen allows other bowlers a breathing space.

Rashid Khan, the 19-year-old Afghan sensation, is also another lethal weapon in the SRH’s bowling ranks. Fastest to take 100 one-day international wickets, Rashid has pace and turn and has earned applause from his team wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha who said keeping the leg-spinner made him confident. For someone whose side is yet to play a Test, this compliment from the wicketkeeper of a major Test-playing nation means a lot. Rashid is as effective a bowler in the powerplays and the deaths and his frequent mixing of googlies with his regular leg-spinners makes him a tough customer to play around in the time-sensitive T20 format.

SRH doesn’t have bowlers like Mustafizur Rahman and Mohammad Siraj in the past seasons but their exits have not hurt the team’s progress as there hasn’t been any shortage of replacements. The Sunrisers are setting up a great trend in the IPL, otherwise seen as a batsman-friendly tournament, with their bowling prowess to bring the faith back on the hardworking tribe.

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