Match 17 of the 2022 IPL saw SRH finally getting points on the board after they defeated CSK by eight wickets. It was a clinical performance from SRH as at no point CSK were in the game. After a brilliant spell from Washington Sundar, Abhishek Sharma starred with the bat for SRH and bagged a much-needed confidence-boosting Player of the Match award. The loss for CSK means that they are yet to open their account in this year’s IPL. Let’s look at some of the key points from the match.
Williamson bringing on Markram
SRH went into this game with just one specialist spinner in Washington Sundar. Aiden Markram is no mug with the ball. Lately, he has started to bowl a lot more for his national team. However, before today’s match, Markram had bowled only 24 balls in the IPL.
When Shivam Dube joined Moeen Ali at the crease, it meant that there were two left-handers batting together. Washington had already bowled his four overs by then, so Kane Williamson had to bring on Markram and use his off-spin to take the ball away from the two batters. CSK batters’ eyes might have lit up seeing a part-time bowler bowl the 15th over of the inning, but SRH’s move instantly paid off as Markram grabbed the wicket of the set batter in Ali, who failed to clear the long-on boundary off a short-pitched ball.
SRH’s slow opening pair
The pitch at the D.Y. Patil stadium wasn’t the most fluent for batting. It had something for all types of bowlers and being a D/N game, there was no dew to trouble the bowlers. A target of 155 on this pitch wasn’t a bad one, but CSK had to contain and get wickets upfront to make a match out of it.
SRH have probably their slowest batters batting together as openers. It isn’t an ideal combination as the pair’s natural style will mean that they’ll usually fail to utilize the Powerplay. Since 2018, Williamson has a strike of just 102 in the Powerplay, hitting a boundary every seven balls and unable to score on 50% of the balls he faces.
To complement such a batter, the team needs a dasher as his partner, who can provide impetus into the inning and allow Williamson to construct his innings. However, Abhishek Sharma, Williamson’s opening partner, strikes at just 122 in the Powerplay since 2018. Today, SRH needed to score at 7.75 RPO to win the game but ended their Powerplay by scoring at 6.1 RPO. It was boosted considerably by the sixth over, which yielded 13 runs.
Both batters are capable of increasing their scoring rate as the inning progresses, which was brilliantly showcased by Sharma today, but if the pair gets out just after the Powerplay, it can put a lot of pressure on the SRH’s rather inexperienced middle order.
Rahul Tripathi as an opener?
With both openers unable to provide quick starts to SRH in the Powerplay, there is a case in opening with Rahul Tripathi. Tripathi has opened in the past and is someone who has the ability to hit right from the first ball. It was evident from his inning today, hitting 39 runs off just 15 balls.
Tripathi’s Powerplay numbers are excellent too. As compared to his IPL career strike rate of 136.18 (excluding the current season), Tripathi’s strike rate of 141.5 is better in Powerplay. He also hits a boundary every 4.4 balls. With SRH focused on having a left-right combination at the top, Tripathi’s style could perfectly complement Sharma’s, with Williamson batting at number three.