On paper, the Sunrisers Hyderabad team has most observers drooling about their prospects for this season of the Indian Premier League.
Their top-order trio of Aaron Finch, Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner is the envy of most sides. Lower down they have the explosive finishing skills of Darren Sammy. But it is their bowling attack of Dale Steyn, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Amit Mishra that is their trump card. That is what has made them, in some minds, the dark horses to keep an eye on.
They did not start well, losing by four wickets to Rajasthan Royals in their opening game in Abu Dhabi last Friday. Their top order did not fire in that game on a sluggish evening pitch.
Their attack made a match out of it, but they will be thoroughly tested on Tuesday in Sharjah when they face Glenn Maxwell and King’s XI Punjab. Maxwell is a concern, but coach Tom Moody wants to concentrate on what his side does in the field.
“Like any player we have done a through review and analysis of Maxwell and a lot of the players in the side are pretty familiar with him, like Warner and assistant coach Simon Helmot, who coaches him in Melbourne, so we are pretty aware of what his strengths are,” Moody said.
“My message is to execute our game plan as well as possible. What we have control over is how well we play and execute our plans.”
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
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