SRH'S POWER FAILURE CONTINUES

SRH's misfiring top-order in their last three games 2/15 2.2 ovs (Lucknow) 4/37 4.1 ovs (Delhi) 4/44 6.4 ovs (Kolkata) Hyderabad's first-wicket stands 15 in 2.1 ovs (Lucknow) 11 in 0.5 ovs (Delhi) 4 in 0.2 ovs (Kolkata)

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN @Chennai

SUNRISERS Hyderabad have a problem. Their ultra-aggressive front-footed batting approach can excite. It can also flatline pretty spectacularly because that's the nature of the beast in this format.

People will criticise them on the days this approach fails but hail it on the days it succeeds. That, though, is post-facto. What the franchise will tell you is their hedonism has given them an identity in a more or less homogenous league.

If Pat Cummins and the leadership group, including the support staff, promoted a feeling of freedom in 2024, their task in 2025 lies in ensuring the team doesn't lose their discipline while using that freedom to their advantage.

When the season began, fans of the league believed they would become the first side to breach the 300-run mark in the league, perhaps as early as this year. That prophecy almost came true in the first game as they rollicked on to 286. Since then? It's been slim pickings.