Let the powerful batting order score a mass of runs and then trust the bowling unit to have enough variety and variation to defend those totals – that was Sunrisers Hyderabad’s modus operandi enroute to the final in 2024. A poor 2024 season and a damaging loss to RCB in the season opener placed huge questions over this strategy and their gameplan, but a bruising 65-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday night got them on the board with two points – and flipped the script on this IPL.
In the first five matches of the tournament, the team batting second won – that meant for a sixth time in a row, the winning captain at the toss opted to bowl first. Chasing is the go-to move at the Eden Gardens, so this is not something to be held against Ajinkya Rahane, even with the size of the loss suffered.
SRH enjoy batting first and going hell-for-leather, and that was made abundantly clear as Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma went after the KKR bowling from ball one. Despite the early movement, Head hammered 46(21), and his opening partner slashed his way to 48(21) – the kind of performances that make them the most feared opening duo in the competition.
KKR pulled things back after this: a quick sequence of wickets, especially a period where they produced three wickets in the space of six balls. SRH’s fast start was dented, and suddenly, they were 118/4 with work to be done in the 10 overs to spare in the innings.
KKR matched SRH's early tempo
{{/usCountry}}KKR pulled things back after this: a quick sequence of wickets, especially a period where they produced three wickets in the space of six balls. SRH’s fast start was dented, and suddenly, they were 118/4 with work to be done in the 10 overs to spare in the innings.
KKR matched SRH's early tempo
{{/usCountry}}Compare this to how KKR went about their business – Finn Allen hammering 28 off 7 balls, Angkrish Raghuvanshi starting quickly in the powerplay after complaints regarding his run-rate in the opener, and Rinku Singh looking confident at the crease. They lost wickets at intervals rather than in a cluster, but at the halfway mark of their own innings, were within touching distance of SRH – 120/3 with a little more than 9 overs to play.
For SRH, the second half of their innings was defined by patience from Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy, not forcing the issue against KKR, showcasing patience and an understanding that with a lot of time left, the powerful pair could afford to get set. It wasn’t vintage Klaasen as he scored 52(35) without the regular towering sixes, but it was effective. Down the other end, Nitish Kumar Reddy scored 39(24), a terrific contribution having come in at the stage he did.
SRH worked their way to 226/8, ensuring that late impetus pushed them to a score that would always have the pressure on KKR’s shoulders. For KKR, it was a different story – they tried to force the issue, to rush things, and lost their way.
This started with the run-out of Angkrish Raghuvanshi, on 52. Once is an accident, twice is a habit, as the saying goes – Raghuvanshi had earlier been involved in a mix-up which saw the end of Cameron Green, and the young batter was caught out trying to steal a single when there wasn’t one on offer.
Maximising talent – SRH's bowling game-plan
SRH knew they had control with the KKR late middle order, but it still required application and clever bowling from their resources. SRH don’t have fearful names in their unit – 35-year-old English journeyman David Payne and Jaydev Unadkat would be described by some as ‘dibbly-dobbly’, Nitish Kumar Reddy is still a work in progress, and their spin department consisted of debutant Shivang Kumar and reliable but rarely-magical Harsh Dubey.
It was a bowling unit without much spice, as DC and LSG had shown the day prior: for them, with the advantage in their favour, it became about letting KKR beat themselves. Cutters, wide lines, into the pitch, awkward angles, mixing it up with their line and lengths. This is what T20 bowling has to be in 2026, and they managed to execute.
Ultimately, KKR were derailed trying to go too hard, trying to play too many shots. The running between the wickets might well be the focus, but there will be an understanding that it wasn’t good enough all around.
SRH, meanwhile, have shown that it is indeed possible to bat first and win: it is simply about adding a little bit of variety to what the teams have to offer.