Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma led the way for SRH's batting dominance in IPL 2024 ©BCCI/IPL
IPL 2024 - TEAM REVIEWS
Sunrisers Hyderabad: A near-perfect season of redemption
Where they finished in this cycle: 2022 - Eighth, 2023 - Tenth, 2024 - Runner-up
Season at a glance
Having finished at the bottom in 2023, winning the title in 2024 would have been the fairytale comeback for Sunrisers Hyderabad. As improbable as it may have seemed after the auctions, SRH were eventually just one good game away from completing the perfect redemption act, only failing at the final hurdle against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Regardless of the result in the final, it was a season to remember for SRH. Questions were asked pre-season as to whether Pat Cummins, despite his golden year as captain in Tests and ODIs, could give a road map to success for a T20 side. The answer to that was a resounding 'yes' as Sunrisers redefined their brand of cricket to become the most entertaining batting side of the tournament. Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma formed an intimidating opening pair while Nitish Reddy was the discovery of the season for them. Add the middle-order blitzkriegs of Heinrich Klaasen and it's not surprising that SRH destroyed bowling attacks more often than not, setting two all-time IPL record totals as well.
On the flip side, their bowling wasn't as consistent and often acted as the secondary department to the batting unit. The lack of a quality spin attack hindered them, barring the Qualifier 2 game on a dry Chepauk surface against Rajasthan Royals. Losing Sri Lanka's star leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga to injury at the start of the season didn't help Sunrisers' cause either. They also had a continuous struggle with the fourth overseas spot due to Aiden Markram's underwhelming returns. Surprisingly, New Zealand's Glenn Phillips, who offered a reasonably similar profile, never got a game. Ironically, it's their batting that let SRH down twice in the playoffs, notably in the final.
Insta moment:
Helpless KL Rahul witnessing the onslaught by Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head ©BCCI
Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma's jaw-dropping assault against LSG in Lucknow. For a side that had posted 270-plus totals multiple times batting first including a mind-boggling score of 287, you'd think that SRH would have found it difficult to outdo themselves. That's exactly what they did as they decimated LSG in a crucial encounter, coasting past the target of 166 inside ten overs without losing a wicket - a batting performance that left everyone,
