Enforcer Bairstow at the forefront of modified SRH plan

Sunrisers Hyderabad started their campaign with two losses before winning three of the next four. In all those victories, a pattern has emerged. They hit first, put runs on the board, and push back their bowling attack to defend it. In fact, their success over the years has revolved around this theme with David Warner, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan at the helm, while the supporting cast does their part. SRH will be pleased that their campaign is back on track now, but the traditional plan has seen an adjustment this season.

While we are used to seeing a marauding Warner tear apart bowling attacks in the IPL over the years, Australia’s opener has been pretty tame this season. It has not looked fluent, risks have been eliminated and there is a tendency to prolong its stay in the crease. The best foreign IPL hitter in the last 5-6 years has certainly softened. No other hitter in IPL history has more than fifty points than Warner. Those runs have come at a great pace too, as his career hit rate of 141 suggests.

From 2014 to 2019, their strike rates were 140.80, 156.54, 151.42, 141.81, and 143.86. This season, it stands at 124.72 after six games. Whether it’s a deliberate ploy to hit deep or just Warner trying to get in shape hasn’t been seen yet, but it could be helpful to SRH considering they rely on the young trio of Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad and Abhishek Sharma to finish off innings. . . In previous years, Warner had the luxury of having people like Shakib Al Hasan and Yusuf Pathan to turn to, and that allowed him to be more aggressive. But in the current circumstances, being vigilant and hitting deep into innings can help the batting unit. More importantly, now he can afford to soften up thanks to the hitter on the other side.

Jonny Bairstow has been a revelation in limited overs cricket since winning the ODI opening spot for England. He became more aggressive, showed more intent at the top of the order, and has largely proven himself successful, becoming a vital cog in England’s white ball revolution. His career strike rating at ODIs right now is an incredible 103.71 and that’s due in large part to the fact that he has never let it drop below 100 in the last four years. Bairstow has never bothered to hit deep or innings for England. He loves to keep boundaries and has developed a habit of trying to attack literally each and every delivery.

While he has people like Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes, and Jos Buttler to trust in case he fails, that is not the case at SRH. But instead of curbing his instincts, SRH has made good use of his current punching form that has shown no signs of fading. Considering that Warner has been calm despite being between races, Bairstow is probably SRH’s biggest hitter right now. On Thursday (October 9), these two were involved in a position of the century for the fifth time in just 16 innings. The previous four arrived last year when they were in full swing. This year, Warner has certainly taken a back seat. “We love hitting each other,” Warner admitted after the game. “We pride ourselves on running hard between terrains. At the moment, I’m just rotating the strike for him (Bairstow).”

Warner was more than happy to deliver the blow to the Englishman against Kings XI Punjab on Thursday after the power play. By the end of those first six overs, both hitters were hitting at 26. But by the end of the 13th over, Bairstow had run to 81 while Warner was hitting at 47. As the lead hitter, Bairstow hit six sixes at the tickets. . SRH’s patron also made a very compelling point after the game during a lighthearted chat with his hitting partner. Having batted with Shikhar Dhawan over the years at SRH, Warner noted that sometimes the two lefties used to get stuck against the detour, often forcing him to take risks. But now with a right-hander on the other end, the Australian admitted he takes the easier option simply by delivering the blow to Bairstow, who can attack in return.

Taking advantage of the current form of Bairstow is extremely key to advancing SRH in the tournament. If the 31-year-old manages to hit 8-10 overs with a cautious Warner at the other end, the damage can be enormous. Considering that Warner is barely losing steam, having a well-established hitter who can keep running fast through wickets and playing smartly in the muggy conditions of the UAE is a huge boon with free-flowing hitters on the other end. And if this tactic is also successful in upcoming games, SRH may once again contemplate being more aggressive on the ball by bringing in a foreign all-rounder in place of Kane Williamson, a move that can potentially strengthen them even more.