Michael Clarke thinks that the SunRisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) batting plan in their IPL 2024 defeat to the Mumbai Indians (MI) should not receive too much blame. He pointed out problems in other areas as the main causes behind their recent poor performance.
After being assigned to bat first in Mumbai on Monday, May 6, SRH set MI a goal of 174 runs. The hosts subsequently knocked down the goal with seven wickets and 16 deliveries to spare, moving above of the Gujarat Titans (GT) to ninth place in the points standings.
Michael Clarke was questioned on the Star Sports show ‘Match Point’ if SunRisers Hyderabad’s one-dimensional, ultra-aggressive batting stance is harming them.
“I don’t think we should be too harsh on the SunRisers at this stage. I think we have seen the best of them and then on a night like tonight we have probably seen the worst of them as well. I think there are areas they need to improve but they have got a lot of depth.”
Michael Clarke
The former Australia captain Michael Clarke believes that spin bowling, rather than batting, is SRH’s biggest issue.
“They bat really deep. So that holds them in good stead. I think the one area that’s probably glaring is their spin-bowling department, the options they have in their squad in regards to the spin bowling. I don’t think we can be too hard on their batting. I think it’s been a standout in this tournament.”
Michael Clarke
The SunRisers Hyderabad did not select Mayank Markande in their bowling lineup for Monday’s game. Shahbaz Ahmed, who gave 11 runs in one over, was their sole frontline spinner.
Varun Aaron Weighs In on Potential Discussions in SunRisers Hyderabad Camp After Lean Run
Varun Aaron was also questioned on the corrective steps that SunRisers Hyderabad may have to take, given that they had lost three of their previous four games.
“You can look at it two ways. One is that you are losing, so you can look at all the departments which are not working for you, which weren’t working for you, and you tighten the screws just before the playoffs, or you can get worried because your plans are not working and so you need to change something.”
Varun Aaron
While predicting that SRH head coach Daniel Vettori will not panic, the former India speedster agreed with Michael Clarke that the IPL 2016 champions’ Achilles heel is a lack of bowling depth.
“Knowing Dan Vettori, he is not going to panic too much. He is going to tell the lads to believe in themselves and just go about the way they have been going before, and they will hit good. However, the bowling has always been under question and is still under question with the lack of a spinner and the lack of a fourth fast bowler who can really take the game away.”
Varun Aaron
In Monday’s game, SRH suffered a minor bowling setback. They chose Sanvir Singh as an impact substitute to boost their score following a batting collapse and were unable to put in a specialist bowler while defending the somewhat below-par total.
