SRH must keep swinging, despite a hat-trick of defeats

When Pat Cummins came out to bat, SRH needed 126 runs in 9.2 overs with four wickets in hand. He had Heinrich Klaasen for company, but even in his presence, it was a tall task. Damage control looked like the more sensible approach. But Cummins did something strange. With a rampant Varun Chakravarthy bowling on an Eden Gardens surface that found some grip after KKR raised concerns with the pitch, he shuffled across to expose his stumps and scoop a length ball just over the wickets and behind the keeper for four.

The moment went largely unnoticed. By then, the match had slipped into a state of going through the motions, almost waiting for the inevitable. But it also showed that Cummins and SRH weren’t going to let the looming inevitability of the situation make them abandon their mantra of success and die wondering. They did die though, succumbing to their worst-ever defeat while batting first.

With three back-to-back losses where their batting has faltered, naturally, questions are being asked of their approach. They've taken it upon themselves to touch 300 in the IPL, and others were believing so too. In three matches though, SRH have failed to reach 200.

Some feel their 'bubble has burst'; others are questioning their mentality after three poor outings. Even off the field, critics are drawing parallels with campaigns built on lofty goals that ultimately fell short, while opposition players, through one prism at least, are taking sly digs at their style of cricket.

“It's very important for us to show positive but correct intent,” said Venkatesh Iyer, KKR’s hero against SRH, at the post-match press conference. “You know, if we are 50-6 and I still go and tonk everything, that's positive, but that's not correct.

“Aggression does not mean tonking every ball for six," he continued. "It's about how you understand the conditions, how you are able to maximise the conditions in your favour. We don't want to be the team that, you know, when we hit it we score 250 and when we don't we get out for 70 - we don't want to be that team.

We want to be a team that understands the pitch and the conditions quickly and assess what is a par score on that pitch and always try to make 20 runs above par. That is what aggression for KKR means.”

Has the SRH 'bubble' actually burst?

After racking up 286 in the first match of the season, SRH have posted totals of 190-9, 163 all out, and 120 all out - the first two while batting first and the third while chasing. In each of these three matches, at least two of their top three have been out for single-digit scores. On average, they have lost three wickets inside the powerplay across these three games. To compare, last year that average number stood at 1.8.

Read more: How CSK designed a home advantage rarely seen in T20s

Abhishek Sharma has not got going at all so far. His 33 runs from four matches is less than No.8 Cummins’ aggregate of 34. Ishan Kishan after his hundred in the first game has made scores of 0, 2, and 2. If not for the emergence of Aniket Verma in the middle order, SRH’s batting numbers would have looked worse.

SRH batters in IPL 2025 (As of April 4, 2025)

But is it a case of the output of this high-risk approach regressing to the mean following a year of above-average results, or is it just another stretch of three defeats which could not have been averted had SRH played any differently?

First things first, do SRH have the personnel to be able to play any differently? Abhishek, Head, Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Klaasen, and now Verma - all are naturally aggressive players whose games are built around boundary hitting.

“That's the style of players we have at the top. They're aggressive. They've been lauded for a year and a bit and rightfully so for their style of play,” said SRH bowling coach James Franklin after the KKR defeat. Asking them to milk around and cut down on risk if wickets fall or if the conditions aren’t flat, wouldn’t exactly improve their chances of success. It would only reduce their chances of going so big that they are beyond reach.

Do SRH need to forget about 300 and bat 'normally'?

SRH’s main concerns have been with the ball and while chasing. Since last year, they have lost in four out of five 200-plus run-chases. Batting first, they have the third-best win/loss ratio (1.16) after KKR (1.4) and DC (2.5). In fact, these are the only three teams to have scored at more than 10 runs per over while batting first in this timeframe, indicating a clear correlation between ultra-aggressiveness and success.

Also read: Extending the death: Why bowlers must forget about wickets to hit back in the IPL

Despite the run-scoring inflation, 200-plus chases remain tricky. Only PBKS have managed to successfully chase such totals more than once since last year. SRH, on the other hand, have had to chase such totals the most - five times. In fact, SRH are the only team to have conceded more than 10 runs per over since IPL 2024. They also have the worst bowling average and strike rate. But the focus on their batting has meant that bowlers have largely escaped scrutiny.

IPL team bowling record – since IPL 2024 (As of April 4, 2025)

With the knowledge that they have statistically one of the worst bowling attacks in the league currently, and the success rate of teams which bat hyper-aggressively, SRH are left with little choice but to bat the way they do.

And even if they could trust their bowlers more, why abandon a batting approach that has brought them success over a decent sample size, has given a new identity to their brand, and is largely considered to be the singularity all T20 batting will eventually get sucked into?

SRH would be looking to improve their execution frequency (although it can’t go beyond a point at this level of risk), as well as attacking skills in tougher conditions. They can even consider fitting an extra batter in the lineup so that Cummins bats nine and not eight. It would weaken their bowling further, but the trade-off with extra batting cushion should be worth it. Last year, they had Cummins batting at nine, with Shahbaz Ahmed and Abdul Samad coming in to bolster the lower order. It paid dividends.

“We've got every confidence within our group and within the individuals to go out and play that attacking brand that we know,” Franklin said when asked if the defeats would force a change in approach.

In an era of polished and boring cliches from players and teams, one would hope he actually meant it. Because for better or worse, SRH’s best shot lies in doing what they do - only better.

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