3 reasons why SRH is struggling despite having a great team in IPL 2023

The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) slumped to their fourth defeat in six IPL 2023 games when they lost to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by seven wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday, April 21. The loss has meant they are second to bottom in the points table after almost half of the season.

Having finished in the bottom half of the table the last two seasons, the franchise made drastic changes to its squad ahead of this season. They released captain Kane Williamson, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepard, Sean Abbott, Rashid Khan and Shreyas Gopal.

Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, who captained the team after Williamson was released last year, has been retained along with Aiden Markram, Glenn Phillips, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rahul Tripathi, Washington Sundar, Umran Malik, T Natarajan, and Karthik Tyagi.

At their most recent auction in December, the franchise made a splash, purchasing English batter Harry Brook for INR 13.25 crore. The franchise added key players like Mayank Agarwal, Heinrich Klassen, Adil Rashid, Mayank Markande, and Akiel Hossain.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad displayed faith in their support staff, retaining the likes of Brian Lara, Dale Steyn, and Hemang Badani. They released Tom Moody as their head coach and appointed Brian Lara to take over the reins. The franchise appointed Aiden Markram as captain thanks to his excellent performance with the bat last year and as captain of the Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the recently-concluded SA20 league.

However, SRH have started the season on a disappointing note.

Let's look at three reasons why the franchise has struggled this season.

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# 1. The scoring rate in the powerplay

Mayank Agarwal's poor returns with the bat have been a factor behind SRH's below-par batting.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad have been among the worst teams in terms of their scoring rate in the powerplay this season. The powerplay often dictates the tempo for the rest of the innings, and SRH have got off to slow starts, leading to a lack of momentum for the middle and end overs.

SRH is last in terms of scoring rate in the powerplay, scoring at just over six runs per over while also averaging 1.5 wickets lost in that phase. One of the primary reasons for this has been the lack of a settled opening combination and the form of Indian opener Mayank Agarwal.

The team has used as many as four opening combinations in six games thus far, leading to a lack of continuity, clarity, and circumspect batting in the powerplay.

The franchise invested heavily in Agarwal to help provide them with good starts, but his form has been terrible so far this IPL, averaging just 19.17 at a strike rate of 106.48. In the latest outing, he batted at number six as SRH tried to find a stable and settled opening partnership to have explosive starts in the powerplay.

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# 2. Lacking wicket-taking ability

Umran Malik and T Natarajan's poor form has hurt SRH's progress this IPL.

Another major issue that has plagued SRH this season has been the lack of wicket-taking bowlers throughout the 20 overs. They are placed eighth among the teams in the number of wickets taken, with just 32 in six matches, averaging little more than five per game.

One of the reasons has been the poor form of their pace duo of Umran Malik and T Natarajan. The pair have combined for just nine wickets in the five games played, and both bowlers have recorded economy rates of over ten runs per over.

SRH is one of the only teams with no bowlers in the top ten wicket-takers list, which has been one of the primary reasons behind their inability to stop the flow of runs by the opposition.

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# 3. Lack of home dominance

Washington Sundar's shocking bowling form has led to SRH's home struggles.

One of the keys to any team's success in IPL history has been the ability to win home games and make it a fortress. However, SRH has been poor at home this season, with just one win in three games at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

A key reason behind their home struggles has been the lack of depth in the spin bowling department and the horrendous form of Washington Sundar. The pitches in Hyderabad are renowned for being favorable to spinners, but the squad boasts limited spin bowling options in Mayank Markande, Washington Sundar, Adil Rashid, and Akeal Hosein.

Considering their batting woes, SRH has used most of their overseas options in the batting department, which has left them with only two Indian spinners on the bowling front. While Markande has impressed so far this season, Sundar's form has been a letdown.

In six matches, Sundar is yet to take a single wicket and is conceding runs at an economy rate of 8.63 runs per over. The Sunrisers have also struggled to tackle opposition spinners in the middle overs, which has led to their home struggles.

The ability of the spinners to take wickets and bat against spin will be critical if SRH are to make their home ground a fortress for the rest of the season.