One glance at the bottom half of the Indian Premier League table is a clear indication that teams who have been wayward with the ball find themselves missing out on a playoff berth. Except Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have been poor in all departments.
In the top half, Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians have a settled look about their bowling lineup, sticking to their respective tried and tested attack for a number of years – it has won them silverware and there is little reason for them to tinker with it. Rising Pune Supergiant too have put up a strong showing with the ball.
Now, defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad are also steadily hitting their own groove with the ball, through strong leadership and man-management skills. It’s been far from smooth sailing for Sunrisers, who have been forced to chop and change at a crucial time during the season. Veteran Ashish Nehra suffered an injury and Mustafizur Rahman, who was the bowling sensation last season, also missed out during the season.
However, Sunrisers managed to put it all behind them and emerge stronger, even with a relatively inexperienced bowling lineup.
The Afghan duo weave magic
Sunrisers, quite surprisingly, found themselves stuck in a precarious position against Mumbai Indians on Monday. A loss would have put enormous pressure on David Warner’s side to win their final game against Gujarat Lions to ensure a playoff spot.
Much to everyone’s surprise, Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi was drafted into the lineup in place of in-form Kane Williamson. But the 30-year-old’s surefooted approach and courage during the Powerplay showed that it was a well-prepared gamble by SRH to tie down the Mumbai batsmen.
Nabi used the slow Hyderabad pitch to his advantage and spun a web around the top order. The two left-handers, Nitish Rana and Parthiv Patel, struggled to connect deliveries turning away from them. This was of course, after Nabi set the ball rolling by picking up the dangerous Lendl Simmons in his first over. The 30-year-old finished with miserly figures of 4-0-13-1.
With Mumbai desperately looking for quick runs, the brakes were on once again with Rashid Khan’s introduction to the attack. Not for the first time in the season, the batsmen failed to pick up the teenager’s googly and had little choice but to work the ball around for singles against the deliveries that were skidding onto them.
Arguably, Khan’s task was all the more tougher as he was operating at the death against the explosive Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya, but both of whom were all at sea against the leg-spinner. Khan’s hard work was rewarded with the wicket of the Indian all-rounder, who was beaten in flight and tamely holed out to the cover fielder.
Together, the Afghans conceded just 35 runs in eight overs, and wouldn’t be a stretch to conclude that the game was in the bag by then.
Sunrisers unearth another gem in Kaul
While Khan and Purple Cap holder Bhuvneshwar Kumar may have got all the plaudits this season, medium-pacer Siddarth Kaul has also quietly cemented his place in the side. There are no dearth of options for Warner in the pace department; he has Brainder Sran, Mohammad Siraj and Abhimanyu Mithun in his ranks along with Englishman Chris Jordan. But it is Kaul who has raced ahead of them.
Kaul’s skiddy action has been hard for opposition batsman to read. The Punjab lad has also showed that he could crank up impressive pace when he hit Rohit Sharma’s helmet with a mean bouncer. Kaul came into the tournament on the back of impressive displays in the Ranji Trophy and is steadily climbing to the top of the wicket-taking charts with 15 scalps at an impressive 17.06. In any other team, Kaul would have easily been the find of the season. Yet again, the SRH management have triumphed with a calculated gamble.
With the playoffs coming up and Sunrisers all but making it through, the bowling order, especially the rookies, will face a sterner test. But coming in on the back of a title-winning season, a vast majority of the side already experience to boast and will be looking forward to defend their title. And the bowling arsenal at Sunriser’s disposal, and their smart handling of these resorces, could be their trump card this season.
