Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) lost for the sixth time in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 after failing to read the conditions once more. On Wednesday, April 23, SRH attempted to be extremely aggressive from the start against the Mumbai Indians (MI) in Hyderabad, but they lost five wickets with only 35 runs scored.
In fewer than five overs, MI’s new-ball duo of Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar claimed four wickets between them, demonstrating that there was ample movement available in Hyderabad. Heinrich Klaasen (71 off 44) and Abhinav Manohar (43 off 37) made a little comeback, but SRH was only able to reach a disappointing total of 143/8, which MI raced down in just 15.4 overs.
Head coach Daniel Vettori commented on SRH’s batting strategy, saying: “I think obviously, the toss was important.”
Because the conditions were so different from the previous ones (it was a new wicket), we decided to bowl first. We’ve talked about the fact that it’s a 280-250 wicket. As a result, things drastically changed. Therefore, it is clearly challenging to obtain an early appraisal of what a par score was.
It goes without saying that you want to maximise that power play when you get in there early. Sadly, we were unable to do so and continued to lose wickets. We had to work towards that kind of 180 score after realising that the surface wasn’t what we had expected. Unfortunately, when you’re 24 for four following the power play, that’s hard to accomplish.
“After we completed that, perhaps two overs, it was determined that the 250–260 wickets that had been taken in the previous two games were not present. And it’s clear that we went further. I mean, it’s clear that Ishan’s firing is regrettable, and that puts pressure on everyone else.
“Even in a powerplay scenario, you want to make the most of those two fielders out. Therefore, the batsmen who are there to attempt and score some runs still have some pressure. And it was quite regrettable that they were unable to finish it today.
“Understanding what a good score is, what a par score is and being able to set it up. We’ve had a lot of success because Travis and Abhi (Abhishek Sharma) are particularly aggressive when they play. If they are unsuccessful, the other batters are held accountable. The ability to form partnerships and have one or two individuals step up in games is perhaps what we haven’t had this season. Although we received two today, it was a bit too late for us.
In the IPL 2025 points standings, SRH is presently ranked ninth. As RCB did in the IPL 2024, the Sunrisers must now win all six of their remaining games in order to advance to the playoffs. “The IPL has been around for a while, and many teams have encountered this predicament. Additionally, some clubs have managed to revive their seasons. And after a challenging start, you reflect on RCB from the previous season. Therefore, a team like theirs is the best source of motivation for us.
“Mumbai has done it a few times, but one performance is eventually required. With the exception of the two games we have won, we simply haven’t been able to put together a cohesive effort. Therefore, we will need to make significant progress in all three areas.”
India
