SRH's Strong Bowling Performance Marks a Season of Learning

Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) bid to reach the knockout stages of the 2025 IPL season officially ended on Monday, May 5, when their game against Delhi Capitals was abandoned because of rain. Although the outcome was disappointing, the day was SRH's best bowling effort of the season, as they kept Delhi at a mere 133 for seven before rain forced the play to be stopped. Regrettably, SRH did not have an opportunity to bat and the match was settled with both sides sharing the points.

With seven points from 11 matches, SRH's chances of reaching the playoffs are narrow. Even if they win all the rest of their games, they would only manage 13 points, which would be short of sufficient to secure a place in the playoffs. This year has been a contrasting one to last year when they ended up as finalists and appeared to be in good title contention. Their lack of consistency in every aspect of the game, though, has spoiled their chances this year.

Following the abandoned match, SRH head coach Daniel Vettori spoke about the performance. He confirmed that the bowling and fielding exhibition was the best his team had delivered the entire season. Vettori believes that the team has put in a lot of effort in the training and meetings to get the best out of these areas of the game, and from their performance on the field, it was apparent that their efforts were fruitful.

“It was a really good performance, probably our best bowling and fielding performance of the tournament so far,” Vettori said. “We’ve been talking a lot about this in training, and it was great to see the team execute so well. It’s disappointing though because we’ve come into the season with high hopes, but our inconsistency has let us down.”

The 133 for seven that Delhi had made was significantly low, particularly on a pitch where big scores have been the order of the day in the past few seasons. Vettori attributed the reason that SRH has taken an ultra-aggressive batting strategy over the past few years, but this season it has not been as effective. Conditions this season have been varied compared to last season, and the aggressive tactic has at times bitten back. Vettori views this as a learning process for his batters, who are naturally attacking but have been forced to modify their style depending on the conditions they encounter.

We've been trying to gauge the conditions better," Vettori said. "This year the conditions haven't been as expected. Last season, there were a lot of high-scoring games, but the surfaces here this season have been more tricky. Our batsmen have been adapting and learning to know what is required in different situations. It has been a learning season for us.

In spite of the setbacks, Vettori was laudatory about his team's skipper, Pat Cummins, as well. Cummins, who is always at ease playing different roles for SRH, was brilliant in the game against Delhi. Cummins took the new ball and made a telling contribution, taking 3 for 19 and tearing apart the top order. Vettori was very complimentary about Cummins, mentioning his new ball bowling talent as well as his skill as a team leader.

"Pat's been great for us," Vettori said. "He's a great new ball bowler, and he tends to play a Mr. Fix-It role for us. Whether it's the power play, the middle overs, or the death overs, he can bowl in various situations. Today, he took the new ball and demonstrated why he's such a dominant test match bowler. It was wonderful to see him lead from the front and play so well."

Cummins' flexibility in bowling in varied roles throughout the season has proved to be highly beneficial for SRH, and Vettori wishes that his good showing against Delhi extends into the final three games of the season for his team.

Although SRH's playoff aspirations are dead, they remain committed to ending the season on a high note and learning from the setbacks they have encountered. As Vettori noted, the season has been a learning curve, and his team is keen to keep developing and getting better, regardless of the result of the last few games.