Sunrisers Hyderabad’s head coach, Daniel Vettori, had a tough day after witnessing his team suffer their fourth consecutive loss in the IPL. He pointed out that the team’s performance all around just hasn’t been good enough. If they want to stop this losing streak, something’s got to change. Last season, SRH made it all the way to the finals with a bold style of cricket, but this time, they just can’t seem to get that aggressive energy going. Their big hitters like Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, and Ishan Kishan have been struggling to find their rhythm.
“It’s clear to everyone in the room where we stand, and the last four matches have not been close, Vettori said after the loss to Gujarat Titans on Sunday night. “The key for us now is to focus on moving forward. Every team in the IPL will hit some rough patches, and now, we’ve got this five-day break before facing Punjab, who have been really strong in the tournament. We need to get ourselves ready for that challenge.
What’s interesting is that you won’t catch Vettori or captain Pat Cummins panicking. He described their current situation as a slow start, comparing it to glacial movement. “I don’t think Pat has ever panicked, and I’m pretty calm too. But we understand what losing four games in a row means for us and how tough that can make the rest of the season. It’s hard because we came into this season with a lot of hope after a great year last time and an encouraging start.
Vettori didn’t shy away from the fact that his team has not performed up to their potential. “We just haven’t played near our best in these last four games, and it shows in all three areas of the game. How teams field is often a good indicator of their form, and we’ve had our fair share of struggles in the field. So, that’s something we really need to work on before the Punjab game.”
With a fearless approach that worked wonders at the start of the season, SRH has found it tough to adapt to the slower pitches. “We understand the style that works for us, but we need to adapt to the conditions better. We really haven’t been assessing things as well as we should. And we have to give credit to the other teams too; they’ve done a great job of figuring out how to challenge our top order.
On the other side, Titans’ bowler Prasidh Krishna has been impressive, especially in those tricky middle overs. Vettori acknowledged that this has made things easier for his own game. “Bowling late in the powerplay helps me get into a better groove, he mentioned. He also praised his teammate Mohammed Siraj, saying, “We’ve had some great training sessions together. Siraj has been dedicated to improving since January or February, and it shows. Everything seems to be falling into place for him.
Vettori concluded by noting that the victories they’ve managed so far have come from understanding the pitch conditions better and fine-tuning their game plans based on that knowledge. With hopes that SRH could turn things around, he remains focused on getting the team back on track.
