Bowling key as SRH eye play-offs

SUNRISERS Hyderabad batters seem on a mission every time they take the field this IPL. Be it setting the biggest IPL totals, not once but twice, or posting the highest playoff score or chasing down a target above 160 under 10 overs.

- FIROZ MIRZA

Their openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma - have plundered every bowling unit for runs while scoring at a strike rate of more than 200. Other batters like Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram, Nitish Kumar Reddy are not behind as they have contributed quick runs to make even the worldclass bowlers look ordinary.

Despite the rampaging form of their batters, the Hyderabad franchise is fourth on the points table managing to win only seven out of 12 matches.

With two matches in hand, the 2016 champions have a good chance of qualifying for the play-offs but it's easier said than done unless their bowlers also come to the party regularly It's not that the bowling unit, led by skipper Pat Cummins, has not contributed to the team's cause. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan along with all-rounder Reddy and spinners Shahbaz Ahmed and Mayank Markande have proved more than handy at times but they also fell short on occasions when they were expected to contain runs and choke the opposition.