From IPL Archives: Rating the performance of Sunrisers Hyderabad year-wise

5. 2017 - 4th Position

Rashid Khan made a mark with 17 wickets in the season

Starting as the defending champions, bets were high on them to replicate the previous year's exploits. Sunrisers added an Afghan tinge to the team as they picked Mohammed Nabi and spin sensation Rashid Khan to enhance the team.

They started on a winning note against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. They went on to win 8 matches in the league stage which was enough for them to reach the playoffs. Had they won one more match, they would have sealed the second spot, thus ensuring an extra opportunity to qualify, but unfortunately that wasn't the case.

They faced Kolkata Knight Riders in the eliminator. In the rain-curtailed match, Kolkata had the upper hand as they restricted Sunrisers to just 128 runs in their 20 overs and chased down 48 runs (D/L method) with 4 balls to spare, thus knocking the defending champions out of the tournament.

As it had to be, David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan finished with a whopping 641 and 479 runs respectively, with Warner winning the Orange Cap. Among the bowlers, Bhuvneshwar continued his phenomenal run as he scalped 26 wickets, thus winning the Purple Cap. Rashid Khan also made a mark as he added 17 wickets to his name in which he dismissed the best batsmen in the league.

Rating - 7/10