Vaughan questioned SRH of killing the confidence of their bowlers by playing on flat pitches.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has questioned Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) tactics, accusing the franchise of killing the confidence of their bowlers by playing on flat pitches.
The Pat Cummins-led side suffered a five-wicket defeat against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. This result put SRH's batting approach under the scanner.
The approach of launching an assault on the opposition bowlers from the outset didn’t come off against LSG. SRH posted a below-par total of 190/9 in the allotted 20 overs, and the visitors rode on Nicholas Pooran (70 off 26) and Mitchell Marsh’s (52 off 31) blitz to overhaul the target with 23 deliveries to spare.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Vaughan said Sunrisers need to be careful about how they play to ensure their bowlers do not lose confidence by playing on 'roads'.
The likes of Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa and Mohammad Shami have leaked runs in the first two matches as their skill with the ball has been neutralised by the batting-friendly tracks in Hyderabad.
"Obviously, we talk about Hyderabad's batting, the power, and the huge scores they get. They've got to be careful that the bowlers don't lose confidence. You know, because their bowlers are bowling on this road. You look at those numbers. I mean, Pat Cummins has done well tonight, but he went for 60 in the first game," Vaughan stated.
"Zampa's been destroyed, really, tonight. Shami's gone at 12 today. So you've got to be careful with your bowling attack, that they don't just bowl on roads in your home venue, and then you suddenly get on there, and you're expecting them to deliver, and they're not full of confidence," he added.
Vaughan also advocated for SRH to be flexible in their batting approach and play according to the situation. He believes the game's outcome could have been different had SRH played smartly against LSG.
"I'm yet to see a team with a major event playing just one style of cricket. I'm just worried that the Sunrisers just play this one style of cricket, and they might just have to go up and down at the gears. Yes, go aggressive when you can, but it might not be possible every time you go out to bat," said Vaughan.
"And tonight, they fell short because they were ultra-aggressive. They had a little bit of fortune, but they were ultra-aggressive. And if they played a little bit smarter, would they have got 220, 230? Again, that's hindsight. But I've not seen a team yet win a franchise league or a national major tournament by playing just one style of cricket," he remarked.