Sunrisers Hyderabad finished in the 2nd position at the completion of the league stage of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Pat Cummins and co. were terrific right throughout the tournament and their ultra-aggressive style of cricket at the top of the order paid rich dividends as they cruised to the playoffs.
After Rajasthan Royals (RR) had a No-Result in their last league game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Hyderabad confirmed a top-two finish and hence will be locking horns with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Qualifier 1 on 21st May 2024.
One of the key reasons why Hyderabad have carved a niche for themselves in this IPL is their super aggressive brand of cricket at the top of the order. Their openers in the form of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma have given their resounding starts and that has always put their noses ahead in the game.
Hyderabad’s bowling attack led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar and T Natarajan too have been impressive and they have scythed through the opposition attack’s batting department.
Pat Cummins, who recently had won the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 for Australia as the captain is proving to everyone that he is a world-class and astute captain. His captaincy skills has made sure that the 2016 champions have a solid chance of winning their 2nd title.
The emergence of Nitish Kumar Reddy as an all-rounder for the franchise has also been a positive. In the playoffs if there is a collapse at the top of the order, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shahbaz Ahmed can consolidate the ship in the middle.
In the spin bowling department, Mayank Markande has been impressive and this has made Sunrisers Hyderabad, a complete team unit.
Even though they had lost to Kolkata Knight Riders in their first game in IPL 2024, Hyderabad would be confident of paying it back. KKR have a disadvantage leading to the Qualifier 1.
The Knights’ momentum has been stymied as their previous 2 matches have been washed out due to rain. Gautam Gambhir’s KKR would be hoping to give a tough fight to SRH and it would be imperative for them to get rid of the dangerous top-order of Hyderabad which boasts of formidable names such as Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram.
Also read: IPL 2024: 3 Reasons Why Mumbai Indians Got Eliminated
