Lucknow Super Giants have endured three losses and one no-result out of their last five matches. They have also lost captain KL Rahul due to injury.
New Delhi: There comes a stage in every tournament when a few teams have to grit their teeth and play out the rest of their engagements with little or no hope of any real headway. SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) are in such a situation in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 and their struggles and disappointments are manifested in the second-to-last position they hold presently.
Even if they have complete success in their remaining games, beginning with the home contest against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), it still may be too little, too late. Hardly the best place to be, under the circumstances, but all SRH can now do is try and post maximum points and see how things pan out in the top half of the table.
LSG also find themselves out of the top four, and it has been a depressing record off late. In fact, they must thank that one point they got from their no-result match with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to be where they are. Things were looking bleak for them in that game but rain allowed them to escape a far worse standing on the points table, with 11 points from 11 matches and 5th position.
Three losses and one no-result out of five matches is hardly the formula for success and LSG are really struggling. Not to mention the loss of KL Rahul, although quite frankly, his presence had also not set them afire.
SRH, ironically, won their last game but still are at 9th, with eight points from 10 games. Funnily enough SRH’s last win was one of their best performances with the bat. They chased down a formidable 214-run target set by Rajasthan Royals with little bother as the top-order fired on all cylinders.
But three losses out of the last five have set them back so far that even their best efforts may not be enough to make it to the next stage.
As for LSG, they were decimated by defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT), going down by 56 runs. Chasing 227 did not get off the ground, despite the rollicking the 88-run opening stand between Kyle Mayers and Quinton de Kock, who finally gets to play.
The rest were all failures and the chase whimpered to a stop without much challenge and two more points were lost.
The batting is struggling, the bowling evidently so. And this is common to most teams who are at the lower rungs, including SRH.
In fact, the SRH bowling, including Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Marco Jansen and T. Natarajan was absolutely slaughtered by RR and it was only the combined efforts of the batters that saw SRH through.
Not the best frame of mind or form for either side and things won’t get any easier. SRH, after their LSG match, meet GT, Royal Challengers Bangalore and then end their league engagements against Mumbai Indians. Can’t possibly get more daunting.
As for LSG, their last three matches are against SRH, Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders. They could be justified if they anticipate at least four points from these three games, but those won’t come either unless there is some radical change in attitude or performance.
