IPL 2020: 3 key takeaways from Sunrisers Hyderabad’s season
The Sunrisers Hyderabad had a very eventful season with lots of ups and downs, stellar individual performances, and of course, several injuries.
At the start of the season, few would have expected the Sunrisers Hyderabad to be in the running to challenge for the IPL title. But through hard work, resilience and grit, the David Warner-led team made the playoffs and won the eliminator before getting knocked out in the second qualifier.
Despite the disappointment of not making the final, the Sunrisers Hyderabad enjoyed an impressive campaign. Here are three key takeaways from their IPL 2020 season.
1. David Warner needs more batting support
Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner was the team's leading run-scorer with 548 runs to his name. The swashbuckling Australian opener was the only consistent performer for his team (barring maybe Kane Williamson) with the bat in hand, even though he was far from his very best.
The Hyderabad franchise simply did not have enough batting depth around Warner to carry them through to the final. Of course, injuries did not help their cause, with the likes of Mitchell Marsh, Kane Williamson, Vijay Shankar and Wriddhiman Saha all getting unlucky. And Williamson, Shankar and Saha all played some crucial knocks when fit. But one can't help but feel that if they had a quality Indian batsman in their ranks, they wouldn't be out of the tournament just yet.
2. Rashid Khan is the best T20 spinner in the world
Rashid Khan showed his quality once again, showing the world why he's one of the best bowlers in the shortest format of the game. The 22-year-old took 20 wickets in the tournament at an average of 17.20 and an economy rate of 5.37. His tournament had some match-winning performances, including a 3/7 against the Delhi Capitals in a must-win game.
The Afghan wrist-spinner was unplayable at times, giving nightmares to even the world's best batsmen. Without Rashid Khan's majestic leg-spinners and googlies leading the way, the Sunrisers Hyderabad certainly would not have made the playoffs.
3. The youngsters are a cause for optimism
Injuries to key players meant that the Sunrisers Hyderabad had to rely heavily on their younger players to get the job done with both bat and ball. And to their credit, the likes of Abdul Samad, Priyam Garg and Abhishek Sharma stepped up to ensure that SRH remained competitive throughout the tournament.
Priyam Garg, who captained India at the U-19 World Cup earlier in the year, made a match-winning 51 off 26 balls in a must-win game against the Chennai Super Kings.
The Sunrisers were reeling at 69-4 when he came in to bat. But together with fellow youngster Abhishek Sharma, Garg played a stunning innings to help his team claim an unlikely victory.
Garg also played a vital role in the field, giving the Sunrisers the bang for their buck. The big-hitting Abdul Samad also played some impressive cameos with the bat down the order, and ended the tournament with 111 runs at an incredible strike rate of 170.76.