Sunrisers Hyderabad was the least demonstrative of the teams but emerged triumphant by playing percentage cricket, writes Vijay Lokapally.
How does a team win a match? By out-batting its adversary, or by bowling its opponent out? Sunrisers Hyderabad did both. The team first put up a formidable total and then its bowlers exerted pressure on the rival batsmen who, barring the openers, imploded, as the Hyderabad outfit emerged victor in the 2016 Indian Premier League.
When the IPL season kicked off, not many had backed Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, in the end, many boasted, “I told you so”.
The truth was that, barring the team itself, there were not many who believed the Hyderabad franchise would go on to win the title ahead of Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The setting was perfect for RCB: a third appearance in the final, and playing in front of its home crowd at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The team, however, had not accounted for the resilience and planning that marked SRH’s march though the tournament. V. V. S. Laxman, the Sunrisers’ mentor, summed it up aptly: “We don’t have superstars. Everybody is an important member.”
Though SRH won the title this year, the tournament belonged to Virat Kohli. Four centuries and an aggregate of 973 runs — the highest in a single IPL season — reiterated the batsman’s rising stature in world cricket.
Daniel Vettori, the RCB coach, put Kohli’s performance in perspective. “He has been phenomenal. Probably the main reason we are in the final is because of his performance — not only with the bat but also his leadership. I think when you have got a guy at the top of the order who takes that much control and his performances are that great, it allows things to flow from there. Obviously a great captain does that — he leads with his performance and Virat has been exceptional not only with batting, but fielding and leadership.”
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Denne historien er fra June 11, 2016-utgaven av Sportstar.
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