New heroes help SRH turn the tide

“It’s only your fifth game, so how do you manage to get in and out at different times?” – Simon Doull asked Shahbaz Nadeem on Tuesday (November 3) after his performance as player of the match over the Mumbai Indians. The moment that question was posed, Nadeem started to laugh and pointed out that it has been the story of his IPL career for the past two years. Breaking into a bowling attack that is considered one of the best in the tournament in recent years is no easy task and Nadeem has often found himself on the sidelines at SRH since the moment he joined in 2019.

To make matters worse, when he moved to SRH from Delhi Capitals, he also had young Abhishek Sharma accompanying him. The fact that Abhishek also bowls with his left arm and contributes with the bat meant that Nadeem had a direct rival who could contribute in two ways. But poor results in the season meant SRH was in danger of not making the playoffs this season for the first time since 2016. And with surfaces slowing late in the tournament, SRH realized the need for two spinners. suitable. in the XI instead of relying solely on Rashid Khan. With three necessary wins in three games against the cream of the crop, SRH turned to Nadeem, who had appeared only twice in the first 11 games.

Against a DC lineup that collapsed at a drastic rate, Nadeem was asked to shoot solo in a solo in which he managed to take out Marcus Stoinis, who was promoted to wreak havoc on the power game. Against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, AB de Villiers briefly threatened to ruin their figures and was the only batsman in that lineup capable of making the difference between the two sides on a slow Sharjah court. Nadeem managed to get rid of him at a crucial moment as RCB managed just 120 on the board. With two major obstacles crossed, it all came down to the final against the featured team in the competition. MI may have rested Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult, but the batting order remained competitive as ever, with only Hardik Pandya absent and Rohit Sharma returning.

Shahbaz raised his hand once more to get rid of the hitter who looked the most fluid in the first half of IM innings Tuesday. Nadeem’s first four installments cost him nine runs, but the next 20 cost just 10. With IM threatening to flee after a fruitful resistance between Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, Nadeem came to a complete halt in his progression with two wickets to the same finish. The momentum running out ensured MI posted only 149 on the board when 175 was on the cards easily. And that made it three massive contributions in three games from an unlikely source.

The unlikely source here wasn’t just Nadeem. Two more fellow Indians have had similar stories this season. Sandeep Sharma had a difficult season early on and even found himself out of the XI game. But a premature injury to Bhuvneshwar Kumar meant another opportunity had arisen. Initially without much of an impact, Sandeep stepped forward as SRH entered the must-win phase. These three games produced seven plots at an economic rate lower than 7. And their victims? Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock and Ishan Kishan.

Sandeep has proven once again why he is one of the lesser known bowlers in the IPL. No other bowler has chosen more terrains than Sandeep in powerplay overs in the competition’s 13-year history. This season, he has conceded runs at an impressive economic rate of just over 6 in the same phase. His ability to use the knuckle ball to good effect and make the yorkers right at death has been useful to SRH, who clearly seemed to have been hampered by Bhuvneshwar’s departure.

While these two have contributed enormously on the bowling front helping Rashid and T Natarajan, it is the success of a certain wicketkeeper-batsman at the top of the order that has caught everyone’s attention. Wriddhiman Saha has managed to replace Jonny Bairstow without problems and that is no small thing. Bairstow and David Warner forged one of IPL’s most fruitful partnerships at the top of the order last year, but the English’s inconsistency this season, coupled with Kane Williamson’s return from injury, meant something had to give. SRH got a massive call by dropping one of cricket’s most influential hitters in limited in recent times, replacing him with a 36-year-old who has never been in the image of white ball cricket for India.

In the IPL, Saha is only remembered for his exploits for Kings XI Punjab in the 2014 season. But SRH’s ploy to use him in the same capacity at the top of the order against the new ball paid off with Saha scoring 87 , 39 and 58 * in the last three games. That 87 against DC recalled his exploits in the 2014 final, where he managed to score a ton. Three of the best bowlers this year – Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Ravichandran Ashwin – were beaten all over the park. Saha’s belligerence has also freed his employer, who has been conservative for most of this season.

For a team that has relied predominantly on its overseas stars for success in recent years, SRH will be very pleased with its resurgence at IPL 2020 which has had a lot to do with stepping up local players. Often looking to Warner and Rashid for inspiration on the field, SRH has rarely had local players steadily step up and take over, except for Bhuvneshwar to some degree. Aside from this Indian trio, they have also found a savior on the foreign front with Jason Holder making an immediate impact.

When the West Indies all-rounder took the new ball against the Rajasthan Royals on October 22, he had a lot on the line. His team’s campaign was stagnant and he too had to make a statement after not appearing in an IPL game since 2016. Mitchell Marsh’s void could never be filled in the middle order for SRH and Holder’s foray into XI. It gave them a lot – needed boost. The 28-year-old returned his faith by collecting 10 wickets so far in the five games he has featured. Holder has always managed to hit the new ball while delivering practical overs to the rear as he did against MI. In a crucial stage against RCB, he also stepped forward with the bat scoring a quick 26 unbeaten in just 10 deliveries to end the game.

The injuries suffered in Bhuvneshwar, Mitchell Marsh, Vijay Shankar and Williamson at various stages have constantly threatened to derail the SRH campaign. But somehow they’ve managed to stay afloat and get ahead by securing a top-four finish for the fifth consecutive season. While Warner and Rashid continue to be the torchbearers of this franchise, the contributions of these four unlikely sources at a vital stage in the tournament tell you that a boost for the title is at stake.