DC beat SRH last night by seven wickets.
Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) player Cheteshwar Pujara has criticised the blind-slogging strategy of the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) after two crushing defeats in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. In their three matches this season, SRH has won only one, in which they put up 286 on the scoreboard.
Pujara believes, “You need to win more number of games. You need to show that consistency again and again.”
Last night against Delhi Capitals (DC), the Pat Cummins-led team was all-out for 163 runs in 18.4 overs. Only three batters managed to score in double-digits. Youngster Aniket Verma’s 41-ball 74 and Heinrich Klaasen’s 19-ball 32 helped SRH cross the 150-run mark. But their efforts were subpar as Axar Patel-led DC won comfortably by seven wickets.
Earlier, SRH had lost the match against Rishabh Pant’s Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). The Men in Orange failed to defend the 190-run target and lost by five wickets.
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The Hyderabad franchise’s strange decisions left Pujara stunned. During the ESPN Cricinfo’s Time Out show, the batter stated that he was “surprised” by their decision to bat first against LSG after winning the toss in Uppal. In an afternoon game, the ground conditions could help the bowlers more, explained the right-hander. He also stated that the approach against DC was “not smart enough.”
“Firstly I was really surprised they chose to bat first. When you’re playing an afternoon game, you know that the pitch will be slightly on the slow side, that’s when you normally prefer to bowl and that’s an ideal time to bowl, not an ideal time to bat. I thought they should have bowled first. But talking about their batting, I think they go too hard and they were not smart enough today”, said Pujara on the Time Out show.
Moreover, the 37-year-old questioned their hard-hitting intent. If they keep slogging in every match of the league but manage to win just a few, then there is no point doing so, felt Pujara. He also advised the team to have a backup plan for the knock-outs.
“What is your success then? If you are just winning two out of 10, then it doesn’t make sense. Last season we saw that they played brilliantly throughout the league phase but what if one game goes wrong for you in the knockouts, then you’re not able you are not able to have a plan”, he said.
SRH will lock horns with the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on April 3.
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