Aakash Chopra opines that SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) could miss the IPL 2024 final if Travis Head fails to impress with the bat. This crucial prediction sets the stage for an intense clash between SRH and the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Qualifier 2 at Chennai on Friday May 24.
Travis Head spectacular performance shines bright as he has hammered 533 runs at an incredible strike rate of 199.62 throughout 13 innings this season. However the Australian opener encountered a setback by being dismissed for ducks by leftarm seamers in his last two outings. Now he faces the daunting challenge of confronting Trent Boult and possibly Nandre Burger in the game scheduled for this Friday.
In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Chopra stated that the SunRisers Hyderabad’s opening duo of Head and Abhishek Sharma is their greatest strength, and he picked the former as their first player in focus.
“Their strength is their two openers. If these two openers start firing, no one is able to stop them. They turn the match in their favor in the first eight to 10 overs. Travis Head has gone down a little, gotten out two successive times, but you expect him to play well. So the first player is Travis Head.”
“Travis Head’s numbers batting first are very good. Trent Boult hasn’t troubled him that much, although he could have got out last time. Riyan Parag dropped a catch. So they might try to trap Travis Head in the same way once again. However, he scored a fifty against this team last time. This team cannot progress without Travis Head scoring runs.”
Aakash Chopra
Chopra identified Abhishek as the second SRH player to watch out for.
“My second player is Abhishek Sharma because he is batting very well. If Travis Head is scoring runs in the first innings, Abhishek Sharma is scoring runs in the second innings. If he keeps batting like this, you never know, he might play for India soon. Times are changing, the Indian selectors have already started focusing on the next generation.”
Aakash Chopra
Abhishek shines as the secondhighest runscorer for SunRisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024. Demonstrating exceptional skill he has scored a noteworthy 470 runs at an impressive strike rate of 207.04 in just 14 innings.
Aakash Chopra Acknowledges SunRisers Hyderabad’s Batting Strength
Aakash Chopra passionately highlights how the SunRisers Hyderabad pose a formidable challenge when their batters hit top form.
“The thing that goes in favor of this team is that, because of the type of cricket they have played, if they get on a roll, it’s very difficult to bring them down. Rahul Tripathi is batting well now. Nitish Reddy plays very well against spin, scored 70-odd runs against this team last time, and hit massive sixes.”
Aakash Chopra
However, the reputable pundit remarked that SRH’s lack of batting depth might be a stumbling issue.
“After that, they have Heinrich Klaasen. So Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, the two openers, then Heinrich Klaasen and two Indians in the middle. This is both a strength and a weakness because only Abdul Samad and Shahbaz Ahmed are left after that. So they are seen slightly stumbling there.”
Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra encouraged the SunRisers Hyderabad to employ either Aiden Markram or Glenn Phillips as an extra batter in their lineup. He mentioned that Vijayakanth Viyaskanth may make way for Mayank Markande, allowing them to play another international batter.