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SRH bowling called ‘mediocre’ in scathing attack by Ambati Rayudu after fourth loss in a row: 'They're just defensive…'
Ambati Rayudu pointed out that SRH bowling has not been up to mark as they lack a wicket-taking option in the middle-overs which has put them down.
Former India batter Ambati Rayudu shared his assessment of Sunrisers Hyderabad's recent slump in IPL 2025, asserting that it's the bowling department that has let them down so far. After starting the season with a thumping win over Rajasthan Royals, things have gone downhill for the Sunrisers as they have now lost four matches in a row and languished at the bottom of the points table. They suffered their fourth defeat of the season against Shubman Gill's Gujarat Titans on Sunday. Pat Cummins and Co. once again failed collectively, as Titans didn't find much difficulty in grabbing two points in Hyderabad.
The ultra-aggressive batting approach has backfired for the Sunrisers with team totals of 190, 163, 120 and 152 in their last four matches. The overreliance on opening duo Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma to give them explosive starts has also let them down.
The bowling unit also failed to fire despite having proven international stars like Mohammed Shami, Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa in the line-up.
Rayudu, six-time IPL winner, pointed out that SRH bowling has not been up to mark as they lack a wicket-taking option in the middle-overs which has put them down.
"I think it's more their bowling, I feel, than their batting. Because in the middle overs they don't have anyone who can come and pick those crucial wickets or put a team under pressure. Look at how GT has done with Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan and Prasidh Krishna. They really tightened the screws," Rayudu said on ESPNCricinfo.
“You can't win the IPL with mediocre bowling”
The former CSK batter assessed that the SRH bowlers didn't look for wickets and planned for stopping boundaries and called their bowling attack mediocre.
"But for SRH, I don't see them looking to pick wickets. They're just being defensive and trying to stop the batter from scoring a boundary. You can't win the IPL with mediocre middle over bowling. You need really good bowlers to pick up the wickets," said Rayudu.
In the IPL match on Sunday, Mohammed Siraj unleashed carnage with the ball and returned with an excellent figures of 4/17 as Gujarat Titans crushed the hosts by seven wickets. Chasing the 153-run target, Shubmam Gill scored an unbeaten 61 off 43 balls, while Washington Sundar hit 49 as GT won the match by 20 balls to spare.
