Here's the review of SRH's IPL 2019 campaign
What's the story
Sunrisers Hyderabad were expected to outshine opponents in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019. The IPL 2018 finalists were a mere shadow of themselves and played way below their standards. SRH were actually lucky to qualify for the play-offs with just 12 points to their name. And they were beaten by Delhi Capitals in the IPL 12 Eliminator. Here's the review of their campaign.
Captaincy
Decision-making cost SRH
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the surprise pick as skipper at the start of the campaign in the absence of Kane Williamson, who missed almost half of SRH's campaign. Bhuvi wasn't bold as a leader and under his captaincy, the bowling of SRH looked one dimensional especially in the pace department. Bhuvi himself had a poor campaign with the ball. He averaged an unimpressive 35.46.
Bowling
SRH didn't bowl well consistently
The bowling was supposed to be SRH's best weapon, but the unit didn't bowl to the plans consistently. Siddarth Kaul and Sandeep Sharma were both costly and predictable. They hardly offered anything substantial. Basil Thampi looked out of depth as well when he was handed the opportunity. Also, the franchise introduced Khaleel Ahmed pretty late. Their one dimensional attack early on hampered their campaign.
Middle order
SRH's middle order was out of sync
The middle order was the sole reason for SRH's poor campaign. No player in the middle took the responsibility and they failed together match after match. The likes of Vijay Shankar, Deepak Hooda and Yusuf Pathan were out of sync. Also, the franchise didn't have the back-up when these players failed. Everything depended on the top order consisting of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow.
Youngsters
Youngsters Khaleel and Rashid two bright spots for SRH
Khaleel was a major positive for SRH. Since he came on for the Orange Army, the left-arm fast bowler took an impressive 19 wickets at an average of 15.10. He will be counted upon to deliver for them the next few years as well. Rashid Khan was once again significant. He ended up with 17 scalps to his name.
Warner, Bairstow
The campaign belonged to Warner and Bairstow
David Warner and Jonny Bairstow were the two superstars for SRH. It was because of their heroics that the side made it to the playoffs. Both left the campaign a bit earlier, but they had done the damage. The two openers amassed 791 runs as a pair at an average around 90. Warner was top notch with 692 runs in the campaign.