IPL 2023: It Seems SRH Have Forgotten How To Mount A Run Chase, Says Aakash Chopra

HYDERABAD: The fortunes are turning for Delhi Capitals as the David Warner-led side displayed some very decent bowling to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 7 runs.

Defending a modest 144, DC restricted SRH to 137/6 on Monday night, registering their second successive win on the back of five straight defeats.

Spinners Axar Patel (2/21) and Kuldeep Yadav (1/22) were again at their best, while veteran pacer Ishant Sharma had a brilliant performance in the second game, taking 1/18 in three overs.

SRH opener Mayank Agarwal smashed 49 to keep his side in a strong position but was run out trying to lift Patel out of the park. The hosts lost significant momentum thereafter and gave their opponents a re-start. The defeat also meant that SRH pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s impressive 4-0-11-2 did little to help his side.

“It was hard to figure out which team won and which team lost. Did Hyderabad lose this match or did DC win? There is no logic to this contest being prolonged. They lost the game by seven runs and you had four wickets to spare. I would have liked to have gone all out by the 18th over knowing we tried but they couldn’t.
Why didn’t this match end in the 18th or 19th over? This is because they don’t play fast. I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s a different kind of chase. They seem to have forgotten how to chase runs,” said GeoCinema IPL expert Akash Chopra.

However, Chopra praised Agarwal’s batting effort for SRH.

“Mayank was the only one who scored runs tonight. He batted well and was aggressive. Forty-nine off 39 balls is still not a bad return. From one side, you keep the team’s innings alive and his aim was good. He struggled a bit against the spinner and got out to the spinner in the fifth over. However, he did a good job. But what was everyone doing?,” said the former Indian cricketer.

“Harry Brook was in the opening but they haven’t found the right move for the team yet. Abhishek Sharma has done well but now he is batting at No. 4. If the batting order is Taapsee Turvy, the opening will be wrong,” he added.

For a dominant team on paper, Hyderabad have had a tough season, Zakir Khan recounted after the match.

“When you start a season, you go to the auction and make a plan. In their plan for the season, was Brook opening? No. So if he’s not supposed to be an opener, why did they drop him from the middle order and say we have to accommodate him? But They left the team wanting,” said Zaheer.

“On paper, it always looks good. You look at it and think all the bases are covered. We have (Mayank) Markande and Washington (Sundar) can be used in many ways as a batsman or a bowler. Look at the team and see where they are in the table, it doesn’t match. The reasons are different. And they have to figure it out. They can prepare for next season because things don’t get any easier from here,” he added.