“Everyone’s terrified of when they come up against us and we got to blow some teams out of the water before they have even walked out on the field.”
This is what Pat Cummins said post a brutal win for his team, and perfectly encapsulates the mindset with which the Sunrisers Hyderabad come on to bat, and the results are in front of our eyes. It is the reason for their fearless approach, under the support and guidance of their fearless, world-cup-winning captain and the management.
Has the IPL changed?
A lot of people have been pointing out two main reasons for an immense spike in the runs this year. Firstly, the impact player rule allows batters at the top to play unhinged and attacking cricket, because a new insurance policy saves them if they fail- the impact player. Even coaches and players have talked about it as a fundamental reason why we see sky-high runs being scored consistently. SRH have used this to their advantage and the mindset may not have been the same if it didn’t exist, although we can never tell.
Secondly, the state of the pitches. Batting paradises have been aplenty this season, and records that seemed insurmountable have been broken and re-broken again, and the disbelief of some fans has reached a point at which they question the validity of these huge scores that SRH, amidst other teams, are posting. Are they right?
A different gravy
Well, they’re not entirely wrong. These advantages are massive and are changing the game drastically, which has contributed to SRH’s unbelievable run. But to accredit it just to that would be a disgrace to the mindset of SRH. While we have seen high scores at large this year, the SRH batting seems to be a different gravy itself. I mean, 125 in a power play, seriously?! They’re doing something different, and that’s where their mindset comes in.
SRH and Cummins know there’s an advantage to be used, and they are ensuring they use it best by doing what all teams should be doing- play fearless cricket. And the results have been astounding. Travis Head, Heinrich Klassen, and the blooming Abhishek Sharma go all guns blazing every match, and they’ve done what Cummins said- blow some teams out of the match before it even begins! There cannot be anyone denying the genius of the team and Cummins to spearhead such an audacious brand of cricket, and we wouldn’t expect less from one of, if not the current best international captains.
Their bowling may not be the best, but when you bat with such aggression, it hardly seems to be an issue. There isn’t much doubt that SRH will go far in the competition, and it must serve as a wake-up call for some teams to follow their brand of cricket if they want to even compete. Like Cummins added, it may not work every time, but when it does, the effectiveness is unmatched.
