Explosive Sunrisers have set T20s’ hitting standard
MUMBAI: It happened in ODIs when Eoin Morgan and Co, in the lead-up to England’s successful 2019 World Cup, showed us that 400+ totals were achievable on a consistent basis.
Over the past couple of years, Ben Stokes’ England have also tried to normalise an all-gunsblazing approach in Tests. So, it was only a matter of time before the T20s saw a revolution too. And in this IPL, Sunrisers Hyderabad have pushed the envelope.
Before IPL 2024 began, Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s 263 against Pune Warriors in 2013 was the highest total. Since they set the mark, only one team had crossed 250 — Lucknow Supergiants made 257/5 against Punjab Kings last year. But over the past month, 260 has been breached four times. It is SRH who are leading the way.
It began with their match against Mumbai Indians, when SRH slammed a record-breaking 277/3. A week later, Kolkata Knight Riders got 272/7 against Delhi Capitals. On Monday, SRH bettered their record by posting 287/3. RCB went all out and replied with 262/7.
SRH never took the foot off the pedal against RCB. After openers Travis Head (102 off 41 balls) and Abhishek Sharma brought up a 100-run stand in 7.1 overs, SRH promoted Heinrich Klaasen, arguably the most devastating batter in world cricket at the moment, to ensure the momentum didn’t drop. Aiden Markram and Abdul Samad then batted in the same vein in the death overs.
“It was proper batting,” said Head, who hit a 39-ball century — the fourth fastest in IPL. “We wanted to take the game on, maximise the powerplay and keep going. We’ve got some power through the middle and wanted to just keep putting the foot down. Pat (skipper Cummins) and Dan (coach Vettori) put pressure on the batting line-up to make sure we kept going.”
What works well for SRH is that they have batters who have a similar approach. Be it Head, Abhishek, Klaasen, Markram or Samad, they’re all ultra-aggressive. The icing on the cake is the clarity provided by the team management, which gives them the confidence to keep going for their shots no matter the game situation. They ended up hitting a staggering 22 sixes against RCB – most in an IPL innings.
“Everyone is in good form,” said the Australian opener. “But you’ve seen the way the team has been set up; there have been some changes since the first game to try to mirror up who’s in the best form and who can maximise it for us. We spoke about it in our team meeting today, each guy has had his moment in the tournament. We’re all complementing each other really, really well.”
While small grounds and fast outfields continue to tilt the scales in favour of batters, there’s no doubt the Impact Player rule has also made life a lot harder for bowlers. It has given teams that extra cushion while batting and allowed SRH to enforce a relentless approach.
“With the Impact Player rule, you’ve got power even at No.7 and 8,” said Head. “So, you can bat longer, just keep going, take more risks, and push the boundaries a little bit more. We’ve tried to use the rule to try and maximise the power we’ve got and put pressure on their bowling groups.”
After the RCB game, Cummins threw down the challenge to the rivals. “I will keep saying, you will hear from us all the time – that’s how we want to play. It’s not going to work every game but I can tell you, everyone’s terrified when they come up against us and we’re going to blow some teams out of the water before they have even walked out on the field.” It remains to be seen how they adapt as the pitches become slower into the summer. But as Head suggested, it won’t be a surprise if SRH get to the 300-mark first.