I don’t see SRH bouncing back, says Ambati Rayudu

They’ll need to play much better cricket from here on and perhaps start thinking about rebuilding for the next season, JioStar expert Ambati Rayudu said

HYDERABAD: Gujarat Titans is well and truly in a great zone in the business end of the IPL, says JioStar expert Ambati Rayudu.

Reflecting on Titan’s convincing win against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Ahmedabad on Friday night, Rayudu said that if one removed Abhishek Sharma’s innings, there wasn’t really much to talk about for SRH.

“That’s because of the quality of Gujarat Titans’ bowling and also some spectacular catches, one from Jos Buttler, one from Rashid Khan. Prasidh Krishna has been extraordinary, and those two wickets in the middle when the partnership was building for SRH were crucial. Their catching was top-class. And also Siraj, the way he has come back,” he explained.

“I think the game was lost in the first innings itself for SRH. The target was just too much to chase, especially given the way they bowled early on, it was quite ordinary. But credit to GT for some extraordinary batting. SRH also fell short in the field, dropped catches, misfields—they just didn’t seem up for it tonight. GT brought so much energy, while SRH looked flat and low on intent,” Rayudu said.

“I don’t see SRH bouncing back this season. Their energy on the field was poor, to be honest. They’ll need to play much better cricket from here on and perhaps start thinking about rebuilding for the next season,” he said.

For his part, another JioStar expert Ajay Jadeja said the right word for Titans was “energy”. “That catch from Rashid Khan and all those diving efforts were fabulous. He ran a lot, slid in, and still managed to pull it off. That effort shows,” he said.

“Titans has taken brilliant catches in the past, but today’s energy was clearly fuelled by what happened in the last game. When you lose a game like that, you come back tougher—and they certainly did.”

Jadeja said Shubman Gill would be no less even as India had Virat Kohli. “If you look at the consistency with which he scores—it’s similar in style. They don’t take unnecessary risks; they wait for the bowler to make a mistake,” he said.

Pragyan Ojha, who played a lead role in Deccan Chargers winning the IPL once, head coach Ashish Nehra would always emphasise bowling hard lengths—and Prasidh Krishna thrived on that.

“When you’re backed for your strengths, everything becomes easier. Once he gets those early wickets, the momentum carries forward. And that’s exactly what he’s done consistently,” he said.