Sunrisers Hyderabad had quiet years during the last several editions of the IPL. There was an issue with the then captain David Warner who was removed from the contact list of the franchise owners and till date, is unaware of what was his mistake. They were smashed in the final against Kolkatta. It was a tame surrender from a team that threatened to rewrite how T20 IPL must be played. However, it does not take away the spectacular season that SRH had. First, they rectified the player selection during the auction. Eyebrows were raised when Cummins was picked for a whopping 20+ Crores. Then, they filled the team with hitters who are capable of hitting the ball over the boundary right from the first delivery. Then, Cummins’s impressive run continued.

After the Tim Paine texting-gate, the Australian captaincy was handed over to Pat Cummins. There were several schools of thought as to, how it was unwise to handover the job to a bowler. How bowlers were not that frequently considered for captaincy? So on and so forth. Cummins dispensed those theories emphatically. An impressive Ashes win in Australia was followed up with an equally drawn Ashes series in England. Cummins sought and conquered the WTC finals with India never being in the game. Then came the ultimate price in ODI cricket, the World Cup. In about 3 years, Cummins’s CV has been so impressive that the Australian selectors must be lauded for trusting him with the captaincy.

Cummins even threatened to win the IPL in the very first attempt. It will be safe to assume that it was because of the captaincy skills of Cummins and his man-management skills that SRH managed to not only reach the finals but to dominate some of the games.

Sensational batting

The opening combination. Both Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma were deadly at the top of the order. Travis Head we all know what he is capable of after twin hundreds in finals. WTC and ODI World Cup. The speed at which he scores those runs will demoralise any opposition bowler. He has a weakness against the shortball but unlike a Shreyas Iyer, he has managed to circumvent that shortcoming and has found a way to score runs. Head has understood that it is not necessary that the runs scored must be pleasing to the eye. At the end of the day, it is runs and wickets that determines a winner and a loser. Head is much wiser for choosing runs over quality. The chase against Lucknow Super Giants where the openers overhauled a score of 166 in just 9.4 overs tells its own tale.

The media then covered the ungainly sight of the LSG owner lashing captain Rahul.

Abhishek Sharma was a revelation. 484 runs at a strike rate of over 200. Remember that he didn’t bat for more than 30 deliveries throughout the tournament. His bowling ability was under utilised until the 2nd qualifier where he picked up Sanju Samson and Hetmyer. He could consider himself unlucky for not being in the Indian team for the World Cup. Perhaps, he could have replaced either Pandya or Dube.

If Head and Sharma were belligerent at the top, Heinrich Klassen was bellicose in the middle. He complimented the efforts of the owners and propelled SRH into realms that the opposition found difficult to overcome. 479 runs at 171 for a batsman who comes in at the fag end of the innings is not a mean achievement.

A decision that paid dividends

It was easily the appointment of Cummins as the captain. Aiden Markaram was leading the side until last year. We would not know whether the SRH management was looking for a change in captaincy and it was with that intention that they decided to splurge a heavy sum of Cummins. His appointment as the captain swung the fortune of the franchise in a positive way. Whatever he touches, seems to be turning into gold.

High point of the tournament

Ransacking of Bangalore to the tune of 287 runs. At one stage, they threatened to breach the 300 runs barrier but agonisingly fell short. In the previous game, they pummelled Mumbai to the tune of 277 runs. These games showcased the batting ability of SRH at its best.

The bowling

The Indian pair of Kumar and Natarajan once again proved their effectiveness. Natarajan who after a sensational few months with the Indian team, having made his debut in all the 3 formats, was missed because of an injury. Now, he has recovered well enough to nail those yorkers time and time again. The lack of ability with the bat will be the reason he may not again play for the nation. If he could atleast develop a defensive game, capable of holding one end, he could be an asset. Kumar is another who is sorely missed by the Indian team but for SRH, he showed his prowess when he defended 2 runs of the last ball against Rajasthan.

Low point of the tournament

Certainly the final. During the entire tournament, it was the batting that kept SRH in the game throughout. They more or less outplayed their opposition time and again. It was the same batting that let them down at the most inopportune moment. In the most one sided final, SRH looked rudderless. The peach that Starc delivered to get rid of Head set the tone for the evening from which SRH never recovered.

Wrapping up Cummins’s impressive run continued

If SRH can retain 3 players, it will have to be Cummins for his leadership qualities in bringing about a turnaround, Abhishek Sharma for his ability to open the innings and also roll his arm over and a toss up between Head or Klassen.

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Ravindra Jadeja Probably the most improved batsman in the world. I will write a separate blog about Jadeja. In this test, he showed why he is preferred to Ashwin though it was never between Jadeja and Ashwin. I have always said that Jadeja plays outside of India as a specialist batsman. Everyone knows that his bowling is non-threatening in English conditions. He may take advantage of a 5th day wearing pitch and that is about it. He paced his innings beautifully. The way he manipulated strike with the tail in the first innings was excellent. If only Pant had stayed with Jadeja, the lead could have been around the 450 mark. Shardul Thakur Shardul Thakur is not an express fast bowler. As such he can never terrorise any batsman with his pace. He is in the team in overseas conditions because he can contribute with the bat. If he fails with the bat and does not keep the economy rate down and provide breakthroughs, it is tough to justify his inclusion. After the enormous partnership between Pant and Jadeja, India needed one more partnership of 50-odd runs to establish authority over England. If only Shardul had stayed with Jadeja at the point, we may have well earned another 60-75 runs. A first innings score of close to 500 would have proved quite challenging but Shardul failed with the bat at the wrong time. Moreover, his bowling was not threatening and he missed an easy sitter of Stokes. Shardul was the star performer earlier in the series and as such this one bad game should not invite condemnation. However, Shardul must realise that he is in the team for his batting as much as he is for his bowling. In hindsight, would Ashwin had been a better choice than Shardul? Maybe may not be. The only reason that I am not able to emphatically say yes is the fact that there is no proof to the contrary. As Manjrekar rightly said, he is yet to take a 5-fer in the countries that matter. With age not on his side, it is anybody’s guess whether he will be able to correct that aberration. Mohammed Shami Shami is a brilliant bowler. We know that. Shami bowls some magic balls. We know that too. Shami makes the batsmen play more often. We know that one as well. Shami is unlucky. That is the problem. He is good and he does bowl lot of excellent deliveries but if they do not fetch frequent wickets, then there is a problem that needs to be identified. A couple of wickets in the second innings just when things started to look dicey for India, would have put the game firmly in India’s grasp. His record in England is a major concern. Just 38 wickets in 13 tests, under 3 per test is not the expected return from the premier fast bowler. It is unfortunate that despite his obvious talent, he has often failed to deliver against the major teams. This is the 3rd consecutive test that India failed to defend and Shami has a lot to contribute towards that dismal record. One good thing about Shami is that he showed maturity while batting in the first innings. He gave adequate support to Jadeja which is good to see. He played the short-balls much better than Shreyas. He will have to work with experts and see where is he going wrong? Does he have to pitch the ball much closer or short? Is the length the problem? Jasprit Bumrah The captain played a blinder and absolutely annihilated Broad. Sadly, it was with the bat. With the ball however, Bumrah once again failed at the crunch. He is quickly becoming the Kohli of bowling. For someone this talented, his match winning feats are less. He is the most protected Indian bowler. He has played all but just 2 of the games outside India. Bumrah is often given a break from tests in India. It makes sense because his action is so irregular that over-bowling may result in an injury but being the bowler the opposition plays cautiously and being the premier Indian bowler, to have failed to defend scores in the last innings on three successive occasions, it really casts a big question mark on his effectiveness. Whether all the pampering, is it really worth? The Edgbaston game was the 5th time in the last 10-12 tests that Bumrah did not raise to the occasion. It includes the WTC finals in conditions that is any fast bowler’s dream. Ofcourse, he picked up 5 wickets in the test but was still unable to break the Root-Bairstow partnership. I have written that he is becoming the Kohli of bowling. Kohli is similar in the sense that when faced with a target to chase, this is about Test cricket only, he is unable to win the game with his bat. He had a couple of opportunities in South Africa in 2017 and a couple more in England in 2017. Bumrah had this one apart from the two tests in South Africa, the WTC finals and the 2nd test in New Zealand. The last one was a long shot because the target was meagre. One thing to note is that he is not the rabbit with the bat anymore. He has certainly improved on that front but it is his bowling that is required. Mohammed Siraj Siraj usually is quite expensive. Even when he is among the wickets, he is expensive but even for him, this test would have been an awakening. He was literally taken apart by both Bairstow and Root. Towards the final stages, the way Bairstow toyed with him in the last over, any bowler would have been ashamed. These are early days and he has shown sufficient skill to become the mainstay but he must also realise that being the 3rd choice bowler, his chances will be limited when India play at home. Conclusion to the top and middle-order let India down This was a golden opportunity for India to win a series in England. Ofcourse, not when they were 98/5 but once a lead of 134 runs was secured, India must have accelerated quickly and must have built an impenetrable position. The negativity of Pujara, Vihari and to an extent Kohli and Jadeja, the recklessness of Pant, the inability of Gill to make a rare opportunity count and the impotence of the bowlers in the final innings meant that India were lucky that they had an upper hand for more than 60% of the game. Remember, we played with one player less because Shreyas is literally a free wicket. By the next time, India go over to England, some of these players would have retired and whether we will get another chance in the foreseeable future, is doubtful.

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