3 SRH openers to have scored a duck in an IPL playoff match ft. Travis Head
It's challenging for any player to perform his best at the grand stage of IPL playoffs because the pressure levels are at their highest. Even one mistake could have a massive impact on the team's chances of winning the high-stakes game.
There have been a few players like Jos Buttler and Venkatesh Iyer, who have dominated the proceedings in the IPL playoff matches. Buttler has scored 234 runs at an incredible average of 117 in the playoffs, while Iyer averages 60.67 in four innings at the playoffs.
However, not all top-order batters have had the same temperament as Venkatesh Iyer and Jos Buttler. Sunrisers Hyderabad's openers, specifically, have struggled to deal with the pressure of the big stage. Here's a list of three SRH openers who got out without opening their account in an IPL playoff match.
#1 Travis Head - 0 (2) vs Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL playoffs 2024
The Qualifier 1 match of IPL 2024 took place earlier tonight (May 21) between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders at the Narendra Modi Stadium. SRH skipper Pat Cummins won the toss and decided to bat first in the big match.
Unfortunately for Cummins, his main batters Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head couldn't provide a blazing start this time. While Sharma managed three runs, Head lost his stumps to Mitchell Starc on the second ball that he faced.
Head took strike for the first ball and started the proceedings with a dot. On the next ball, Starc delivered a peach to dismantle Head's stumps. Notably, this wasn't the first time, Head got out to Starc in this fashion.
#2 Shikhar Dhawan - 2 ducks
Shikhar Dhawan is the only SRH opener to have recorded more than one duck in IPL playoff matches. The first one came against Gujarat Lions in the 2016 season's Qualifier 2.
Dhawan struggled to get off the mark in that game. Eventually, he got run out, returning to the pavilion with a score of 0 (4).
Two years later, Dhawan donned the orange jersey in the Qualifier 1 against Chennai Super Kings. Deepak Chahar cleaned him up on the first ball of the game to provide the perfect start to CSK at the Wankhede Stadium.
#3 Shreevats Goswami - 0 (3) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, IPL 2020
Uncapped wicketkeeper batter Shreevats Goswami opened the batting for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2020 Eliminator against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. RCB set a 132-run target for the Orange Army in that do-or-die game at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
Hyderabad got off to a bad start as Mohammed Siraj sent Goswami back to the dressing room before he could open his account. Goswami handed a catch to wicketkeeper AB de Villiers off Siraj's bowling on the third ball he faced.
Luckily for SRH, Kane Williamson chipped in with a 44-ball 50 in the middle-order to guide the team to a six-wicket victory. SRH were eliminated in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2020, losing against Shreyas Iyer's Delhi Capitals.