SRH crash and burn but they must not be afraid to fly again

On May 21, 2024, the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) arrived at the Narendra Modi Stadium, less than 48 hours after a high-flying run chase. Up against them are the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the only team to have been scoring at a quicker tempo than SRH.

Even before a ball is bowled, there is anticipation among the fans. Some on the outside are discussing whether the run-aggregate will cross 500. Some even dare to ask if 300 is on the cards, given the firepower at either side’s disposal.

There is, however, a caveat attached to all of this. Just because this is now a playoff game - almost a knockout - and with a place in the final at stake. In group matches, going hammer and tongs is much easier because you can always come back two or three days later and put things right.

SRH win the toss and choose to bat first. Perhaps they are thinking of batting big and putting up a mountain of runs they can defend. Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head will also not mind the first use of a pitch that usually has runs in it.

Abhishek and Head indeed make their way out to the middle. Mitchell Starc has a shiny new ball in his hand, but that has not deterred either of these from taking the game head-on.

SRH's batting powerplay did not quite go to plan

The first ball to Head is full and wide outside off. He drives it towards extra cover. A bit of hesitation ensues but no real damage is caused. The second ball is on a length and Head, like he has done often this season, plants his front foot and goes for the booming drive on the up. Only……to see his stumps in an absolute mess.

Most teams, when an opener has been dismissed in the first over, would ask the other batter to just keep it tight for an over or two. They do not do that at SRH, though.

Abhishek, trying to transfer the pressure immediately onto Vaibhav Arora, slices it to Andre Russell at cover and perishes. Nitish Kumar Reddy follows suit soon after, getting dismissed to a swipe across the line, and SRH, all of a sudden, are three down.

SRH, it could be argued, never really recovered from those setbacks. Losing four wickets in the powerplay generally signals a death knell, leaving barely any margin for error for the middle order.

That is exactly what happened too. Heinrich Klaasen and Rahul Tripathi, despite their 62-run partnership, were not able to extract SRH completely out of trouble and when they fell close to each other, the 2016 champions were left reeling.

Klaasen was also dismissed attempting a big shot when he could have easily knocked the ball around for a few overs, and that again brought SRH’s batting approach into sharp focus.

On a big occasion, when scoreboard pressure could have been a thing, would they have been better off trying to get to a par total, rather than trying to blast KKR out of the park? The answer is a resounding….maybe.

Could have, would have, should have is one of the most overused adages in sport. Largely because it relies on hindsight, which anyway comes into question long after a particular event has occurred. But if you look at what KKR accomplished in the 13.4 overs they batted, SRH’s template makes even more sense.

Yes, they fell short of where they would have wanted to be. But had things gone right, they would have had a decent chance of winning. That would probably have been their only chance of winning.

Part of that is because their bowling attack has not quite stood up regularly. They have conceded 200-plus totals several times, and have lacked the penetration to tie teams down. The other, perhaps more important bit, is that the personnel at SRH’s disposal is cut out for exactly this brand of batting.

Head, even in Test cricket, throws caution to the wind, whereas Abhishek is one of the cleanest strikers in the Indian domestic circuit. Klaasen makes a mockery of bowling attacks frequently, and Tripathi, who seems to have nailed down the No. 3 spot, is also a free-flowing batter.

All of this, of course, will be known to SRH, their fans, and the team management, and this is hardly news, given this was their 15th game this season. But after the chastening against KKR, this needs reiterating, especially as they gear up to play another playoff game, which, unlike Tuesday, will be a proper knockout.

SRH, undeniably, will be hurt. Self-doubt may have crept in too, and they may even be harboring thoughts of what would happen if they fail again, trying to go for an above-par total. All of that is completely understandable.

What they have to remind themselves, though, is that this is their style of play. Something they have engineered to put behind the nightmares of 2021, 2022 and 2023. Something that has gotten them to where they are, and has cast them as a truly revolutionary IPL outfit. They have to believe the loss to KKR was more down to bad execution, rather than a wrong approach.

Yes, there is a chance they can crash and burn on Friday like they did on Tuesday. But they must not be afraid to fly again. Questions such as ‘what if we fall again’ must be replaced by thoughts of ‘what if we actually fly’.

Mistakes happen. Bad days happen too. They are all part of this frenetic format, as captain Pat Cummins said. The only people who have never made a mistake are those who have never pushed the boundaries of what is possible. The only T20 team to have never made a mistake is also probably the team to have never won anything of note, having not played the format the way it needs to be played.

SRH are not that team this year. They cannot let themselves be that team. Not when a place in the final is still within their grasp. Not when a historic season is awaiting an exclamation mark. And certainly not when they are still very capable of soaring.