3 areas of concern for SRH after their latest loss against CSK
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) led by Aiden Markram, lost by seven wickets against MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Friday, April 21. Batting first, SRH managed to score 134 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their 20 overs. Abhishek Sharma was the top scorer with 34 runs off 26 balls.
CSK chased down the target in just 18.4 overs, thanks to a phenomenal knock by Devon Conway, who scored 77 runs off 57 balls. SRH bowled well, but there were not enough runs on the board to put CSK under the pump.
SRH are now languishing in ninth position in the points table and will need to buck up soon if they want to have any hopes of qualifying. Here, we look at three areas of concern for SRH after their loss against CSK:
#1 Mayank Agarwal's poor form for SRH
Mayank Agarwal, who was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for a hefty sum of 8.25 crores, has had a poor tournament so far. He has accumulated only 115 runs across six innings. In addition to his lack of runs, his strike rate of just a shade above 100 is also disappointing.
Agarwal started the season as a top-order batter but failed to produce the goods. He scored 48 off 41 balls in SRH's previous game, failing to accelerate as Hyderabad fell short by 14 runs. He was shifted lower down the order this time around, but that hasn't worked either. SRH will hope for a better showing from their experienced campaigner.
#2 Inconsistent batting performances
SRH's batters have failed to display any kind of consistency this season. Apart from the century that he scored against KKR, Harry Brook has not done anything of note. Rahul Tripathi has not been at his best and the same can be said about the likes of Abdul Samad and Mayank Agarwal.
As such, there have been quite a few occasions where the team has failed to put up a defendable total on the board. This has had a domino effect on the bowlers, as they have not been able to apply too much pressure on the opposition. SRH's batting line-up needs to step up as a unit sooner rather than later.
#3 Lack of left-handed batters
Sunrisers Hyderabad's batting line-up is full of right-handers like Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen.
Abhishek Sharma is the only left-hander in the line-up, making it quite easy for the opposition's skipper to trouble the right-hander's heavy SRH lineup by using favorable match-ups.
Therefore, SRH should consider including Vivrant Sharma, who has a good domestic record. He could come into the team in place of Mayank Agarwal, who could do with a break at the moment.