Hard-hitting Hyderabad turning Heads in IPL

The ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been an exceptionally high-scoring one with the run rate being 9.49 per over. It means an average IPL 2024 innings yields just under 190 runs. 

Believe it or not, Sunrisers Hyderabad, on Saturday against Delhi Capitals, scored 204 runs just from boundaries. They have set the big-hitting standard so high that their number of runs from boundaries was higher than the average score in the tournament not once, but twice.

After helping Hyderabad become the first-ever T20 team to score three 250-plus totals in a tournament, opener Abhishek Sharma said they "targeted more than" 267 that they notched up at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

The projected score for Hyderabad was indeed much higher than that at one stage when Travis Head and Abhishek were going berserk in the powerplay. The score stood at 125-0 at the end of the powerplay, well past the previous record set by Nottinghamshire (106) in 2017.

The explosive duo at the top is a big reason why Hyderabad have been able to almost seal the deal at the halfway stage while batting first. The bowling attack looks a little bit thin on batting paradises but so far their hitting ability has masked that weakness. 

The left-handed combination of Head and Abhishek have been the most prolific pair in terms of partnership runs (404) in the tournament and when it comes to scoring quickly, no other pair comes closer. They average 67.33 per innings but most importantly they are going at 15.24 runs per over. 

It has been a welcome change for Hyderabad as they had only two 50-plus opening stands last season. After the departure of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow, the franchise found it extremely difficult to replace them. Hyderabad used as many as seven opening pairs in the 2023 edition of the tournament but couldn't find a settled combination. 

The ultra-aggressive approach is something that was designed by the new think tank featuring captain Pat Cummins and head coach Daniel Vettori.

The duo identified the necessity of maximising the field restrictions inside the powerplay and pushed the batters to pounce on the bowlers.

"We've wanted to be exciting the whole time, and we've wanted to take the game on, and Pat and then Dan [Vettori] have put pressure on the batting line-up to make sure we try and maximise the powerplay and then keep going," Head said after bludgeoning a 39-ball century against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. 

Head now is the second-most prolific batter in the tournament with 332 runs at a strike-rate of 216 while Abhishek is keeping it short and sweet, striking marginally lower than Head - 215.96 - for his 257 runs.

Hyderabad have been able to keep going even after the field spreads out because of a power-packed batting line-up. Heinrich Klaasen, who had a breakthrough season last year with 448 runs at a strike-rate of 177.07 remains their premier middle-over spin-hitter. This year, the numbers are even better for the Protea six machine (268 runs at a strike-rate of 198.5).

Hyderabad, in the last few seasons, suffered due to a lack of output from the local batters but it hasn't been a problem this year. Local lower middle-order batters like Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abdul Samad and Shahbaz Ahamad have stepped up on multiple occasions. 

Now they are eyeing an uncharted territory in the IPL - a total of 300. After Hyderabad notched up the highest total in IPL history (287) against Bengaluru, Head said, "Our score needs a three in front now." They were well on course on Saturday but a mid-innings wobble saw them finish at 267. 

But Hyderabad's relentless aggression suggests that they would try to breach the barrier again. Abhishek, Head's partner-in-crime also manifested a 300-plus total for them this season. Head hinted at going hard next game too. "I heard it's a sold out crowd for the next game. Hopefully we will continue our good form," said Head and the home crowd can expect another run-fest when Hyderabad lock horns against Bengaluru on Thursday.