Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) started slowly in the IPL 2022 season, but have since come back with a bang, winning four consecutive games. Their pace assault of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Umran Malik, and Marco Jansen has been a big part of their success.
Sanjay Manjrekar, a former India batter, praised the team's pace arsenal, saying it had a lot of variety, which allowed them to play well since they could employ multiple ways to guarantee the opposition didn't run away with the game.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umran Malik, in particular, shined in SRH's most recent victory against Punjab Kings at the DY Patil Stadium on Sunday.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo Manjrekar said: "We have quality and a lot of attacks in the IPL, but SRH have Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who bowls slowly but wisely. They've got Natarajan who'll get you wickets in all phases and then they've got somebody like Umran Malik, who will get you wickets with just pace. Marco Jansen had a slightly off-day in comparison, but he adds another kind of variety."
"So not only is there quality, but you saw the different ways in which they stay in the game constantly, those fast bowlers," he went on to say.
He also praised Kane Williamson's captaincy and his use of the pacers, particularly the decision to give the difficult overs to the more experienced Bhuvneshwar and Natarajan while allowing the youthful Malik to shine without being pressured.
"Kane Williamson has been brilliant with the pace bowlers. Natarajan bowled the fifth, then he bowled the 14th, 16th and 18th. Those are the tough overs where the game can go one way or another," he said.
"Bhuvneshwar Kumar, interestingly, bowled the first and the third over and then he bowled the 17th and the 19th. Experienced guys have been given the tough overs while this young sensation has been allowed to blossom," Manjrekar said.
SRH went on to chase down the goal with seven deliveries and as many wickets as they needed, and are now in fourth place in the IPL 2022 points table.
(ESPNcricinfo inputs)
