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Former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull has pointed out how Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) batter Rahul Tripathi has failed to maintain a healthy strike rate in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2023).
Doull suggested that Tripathi seems to be worried about his place in the playing XI, which has proved to be the reason for his downfall. He highlighted that the batter should not be wasting a lot of deliveries, especially during powerplay overs.
The cricketer-turned-commentator made these remarks following SRH's seven-run loss to Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Monday, April 24. He said:
"The only time he has got a good strike rate was that 74*. Every other time that he has batted 10 balls or more, he has been less than a run-a-ball. Whether that's a problem for him and he is worried about his spot on the side, he shouldn't be.
"He is good enough to be in that side all day at number three. He cannot be chewing up deliveries, not at number three inside the powerplay."
Hyderabad's batting let them down against Delhi as they finished at 137/6 in 20 overs while chasing a 145-run total. Tripathi struggled to get going in the encounter, scoring just 15 runs off 21 balls.
Doull further stated that one of Mayank Agarwal and Tripathi should have tried to score runs quickly during the middle overs:
"Either Mayank Agarwal or Rahul Tripathi had to up the ante a little. The run-rate pressure was just starting to squeeze. What that means is that when every new batter comes in, it's difficult to start. When you try and start quickly, you lose your wickets.
"They had three batters going at strike rates good enough to win the game. Mayank was 125, so it was kind of okay, but Klaasen at 163 and Washington Sundar at 160. When you've got three batters going at better than the rate required, it just shows you that the in-betweens were not good enough."
Despite cameos by Heinrich Klaasen (31) and Washington Sundar (24*) towards the backend of the innings, SRH failed to cross the line. With 13 runs required from the final over, they could only score five runs, suffering yet another defeat.
"Not when you've got international quality in Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen" - Simon Doull on Abhishek Sharma batting in the middle order for SRH
Simon Doull opined that SRH made a mistake by slotting Abhishek Sharma at No. 4 in their run chase against DC. He emphasized that the youngster should open the innings or come in the lower middle order.
The 53-year-old claimed that Sharma should not be batting in the middle order, as SRH have better options in the form of Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram. He elaborated:
"Abhishek Sharma, to me, either opens the batting or he bats around Washington Sundar's number. He doesn't bat in that middle order because I don't think that's his role. He comes in at the end and whacks it because he can do that, he's got big boy power and good long levers.
"He either opens the batting and gets the strike rate, or he bats at number seven. I don't think he bats at three, four, five or six, and nudges the strike rate. Not when you've got international quality in Markram and Klaasen."
Sharma could muster five runs from as many balls against Delhi. The left-handed batter has 72 runs to his name from five outings in IPL 2023 at an average of 14.40.
