Did SRH peak too soon this season? Have the rampaging Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma run out of steam? Why is Heinrich Klaasen not providing the fireworks at the death? And is SRH’s under-par bowling in the tournament finally getting exposed?

The Sunrisers are in a bit of bother. They have lost three of their last four encounters. They have posted three below-175 totals at a run-rate of 8.6 which is the worst for any team during this time-frame. Their batting average has also come crashing down to 23.4 and is again the lowest in this period.

The bowling hasn’t fared much better either. SRH’s combined bowling average of 39.6 is the worst for any team in the last fortnight and they have conceded three 200-plus totals in their last four matches. A poor show with the bat and ball has meant that they also have a negative net run-rate.

The Head-Abhishek Sharma opening partnership

Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma took the season by storm revolutionizing batting in the powerplay, powering the Sunrisers to record-breaking scores at the end of six overs. No pair scored more runs than the duo’s 404 in the first four weeks of the tournament (till SRH’s seventh encounter on the 20th of April). Their exploits included two century stands and they blasted their runs at a stunning strike rate of 254! SRH smashed some all-time records and won five of their first seven encounters.

However, things have gone south for them thereafter. SRH have recorded just one victory in their last four matches and lost a bit of fire and momentum. One of the biggest reasons for their downslide has been the sudden loss of form of Head-Sharma at the top of the order. The pair have added just 105 runs in these four encounters with just one fifty-partnership. Their scoring rate has also come down dramatically to just 136.4!

While Head has scored 120 runs in four innings with one half-century at a strike rate of 143, Sharma’s form has taken a major hit and he has mustered just 69 runs in the four innings with a high of 31.

Where is Mr Finisher – Heinrich Klaasen?

Klaasen was in devastating form in the first seven matches hammering 268 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 198.5 with three fifties. If Head & Sharma were providing the fireworks in the powerplay, Klaasen was blasting the opposition bowlers at the death, taking SRH to record-breaking totals.

However, Klaasen has also witnessed a sudden dip in his form with an aggregate of just 86 in the last five encounters. He has failed in four of these matches and his strike rate has also come plummeting down to 156.4. Without any significant contribution from their ace finisher, SRH have struggled in the death overs, especially in big 200+ chases.

Pressure of chasing high totals

Five of SRH’s six wins this season have come batting first. More significantly, three of their five losses have come chasing down targets in excess of 200. This suggests that while their batters have created carnage setting targets, they are wilting under scoreboard pressure batting second. Two of these losses have come in the last couple of weeks when almost their entire batting line-up has collapsed.

Head has scored just 45 runs in three matches at a strike rate of 132 batting second. Klaasen’s strike rate has gone down from 202.5 batting first to just 156.3 in chases. Even Nitish Kumar Reddy, who has impressed in the middle-order, has registered both his fifties when SRH have batted first and his strike rate has gone down drastically from 163 to 117 while chasing.

Low wicket-taking propensity and high economy

SRH have bagged just 20 wickets in their last four matches and conceded at a rate of 10.2 making them the second-most expensive unit in this period. They have conceded 200-plus totals in three encounters while MI chased down the 174-run target in 17.2 overs – this basically means that the SRH bowlers have given away runs at a rate of above 10 in their last four encounters!

T Natarajan has not been as effective at the death as before and picked just three wickets at an economy of 12.4 in the last four overs. Skipper, Pat Cummins has been a touch expensive and went for above 12 an over against CSK and RCB. Bhuvneshwar Kumar hasn’t found his rhythm the entire season and has gone wicket-less in five innings in the tournament. He has also conceded above 10 an over in as many matches. Marco Jansen has picked just one solitary wicket while being tonked for 13 an over in the competition while the spinners Mayank Markande and Shahbaz Ahmed have gone at above 11 per over.

The silver lining for SRH, though, is that despite the recent loss in form, they are still at number 4 on the table. They will clash with fifth-placed Lucknow Super Giants in a massive encounter in Hyderabad on Wednesday – in a contest which could potentially turn out to be a shootout for a place in the playoffs.

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