Pavilion Se

Usually a lot of people in cricket follow various superstitions. One of the many superstitions in the game is changing the entire uniform and support staff. Well, I am not an ardent fan of such beliefs but the story of SUNRISERS HYDERBAD aka DECCAN CHARGERS made me think about my belief. The team that won the second season of the Indian T20 League in South Africa in 2009 had been performing shabbily and were at the bottom of the table for next three seasons. But in the current season i.e., Pepsi IPL 6 they have played astonishingly well without too many big names in their side.

We can start with the change in owners to the support staff. They are being coached by Tom Moody and Waqar Younis both of whom were excellent players in their era and have a lot of experience in coaching teams. Their mentors, the great VVS Laxman and the aggressive Kris Srikkanth have helped the team a lot. The team looks very relaxed and confident, even with the absence of big guns in their team. They have caused some major upsets this season by defeating seasoned campaigners like Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils.

The major reason for their success can be attributed to the performance of their Indian players. Ishant Sharma has been complimenting Dale Steyn well with tight spells at the start of the innings. But what really has made the difference is their bowling from the 7^TH to the 15^th over. Amit Mishra who is in form of his life has been the primary wrecker. He is well supported by the uncapped and unknown Karan Sharma. The two leggies have been phenomenal in Hyderabad’s success. Full points to Mishra who picked up his third hat trick this season and has won them lost matches. Thisara Perera has troubled the batsmen with his tight lines and inclusion of Darren Sammy is just icing on the cake for them.

What Sunrisers lacked at the top of the innings was stability in their batting order. With Shikhar Dhawan coming in they have got the necessary boost and Parthiv Patel is also batting well.

The only thing they lack is a good middle order player. Since Cameron White or Sangakkara are not in form it’s a big headache for them and this is the only reason that may stop them from qualifying for the Play Offs. So far they have backed their bowling to win them matches but in the shortes format of the game you never know so they must get some stability in the middle order so they can have the confidence of chasing or posting big totals if their bowlers have an off day.

Otherwise this team is looking a champion team and only they can stop themselves from booking a Play Off berth.