After the game against the Delhi Capitals (DC) ended up in a washout, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) head coach Daniel Vettori mentioned that the conditions in Hyderabad weren’t what they expected and that the pitches were tricky. SRH, who started the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season strong with an aggressive batting style from Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, unfortunately finished the 2025 season with only three wins in 11 games after the weather interrupted their match against DC on Monday.
In the post-match chat, Vettori said, I didn’t say after every match that I supported an aggressive approach. It’s about understanding the conditions, and this year, they were different. Last year, we had a lot of high-scoring games here. He noted that the pitches had changed and made it tough for batters. He emphasized that the team discussed reading the game and responding to different situations. Although the players have an aggressive nature, this season has been more about figuring out what’s needed based on the conditions.
So far, Hyderabad has hosted six games, and teams have only managed to score over 200 runs in four of 11 innings. Last year, that happened seven out of 12 times. The surface this time was more helpful to bowlers. Vettori pointed out that two of the six pitches were good for big scores, but the rest were better for fast bowlers, especially the new ball.
He explained that “two surfaces have been suitable for scores of over 250, while four have favored fast bowlers more. The new ball has been tough to hit, and the best new-ball bowlers in the IPL took advantage of that.”
With just three wins out of ten games, SRH needed to win this match to keep their playoff hopes alive. They had limited DC to 133/7 when rain ended the game, which felt frustrating for the team. Vettori expressed his disappointment over the team’s inconsistency this season, saying, “We came in with high hopes, but we haven’t performed consistently. I’ve mentioned before that we struggle to put together complete performances. We started off strong today, so it’s tough that we couldn’t finish it, but that’s part of the game.”
Pat Cummins, the team captain, had a strong showing with the new ball, taking 3 wickets for 19 runs. With Mohammed Shami out, Cummins bowled the first over and dismissed Karun Nair on the first ball. Shami hasn’t had a great season with just six wickets in nine games, so he was dropped based on the pitch conditions, and Vettori praised Cummins for taking on different roles well.
Vettori acknowledged Shami’s struggles but noted that he’s been working hard. He mentioned, “This Hyderabad pitch suited our team best today.” Overall, Cummins has taken 13 wickets in 11 matches, with an average of about 27.92.
In the match, DC was struggling at 29/5, but Tristan Stubbs (41* in 36 balls) and Ashutosh Sharma (41 in 26 balls) helped them reach 133/7. Unfortunately for SRH, they couldn’t chase that down as the rain washed out the game. DC now sits in fifth place with six wins and four losses, while SRH is in eighth with three wins and a total of seven points.