Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma’s performances have been the only bright spots of an otherwise lacklustre Sunrisers Hyderabad campaign in IPL 2025.
| Photo Credit: SANDEEP SAXENA
At this time last year, Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad were in the process of zealously fine-tuning their plans for the IPL final. Right through the summer of 2024, they had stamped their imprints by producing some riveting cricket, and were fully deserving of a shot at the grand prize at a floodlit M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Cut to the present, the situation is distinctly different. At seventh and eighth in the 10-team table, they are laggards whose forlorn fate in the tournament was sealed long before the culmination of the league phase. They will face each other at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday in a contest of no consequence.
Both teams have been let down by their batting departments. In KKR’s case, the fact that skipper Ajinkya Rahane is the only one with more than 300 runs paints a sorry picture. During the course of this season, the team was shot out for 116 versus Mumbai Indians, and failed to chase down 112 against Punjab Kings.
For SRH, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan did smash scintillating centuries that were responsible for Pat Cummins’ men racking up the season’s two biggest totals – 286 for six while batting first against Rajasthan Royals and 247 for two in a triumphant chase against PBKS. But beyond these glimpses of individual brilliance, the consistency needed collectively to stitch together a playoff-entering run was missing.
Introspection over their inadequacies is bound to follow. But before that, they will seek to close out a disappointing season on a winning note.
Published – May 24, 2025 05:59 pm IST