You can not say it occurred due to the pitch

Former India cricketer Zaheer Khan opined that the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) top-order batters cannot deflect the blame on the pitch for their early dismissals against the Gujarat Titans (GT). The Orange Army’s left-handed top three were all dismissed in 3.1 overs, scoring a combined total of just 17 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, on Tuesday, May 12.

SRH needed a strong start to tackle the target of 169 runs against a strong bowling outfit. However, they were handed an early blow after Travis Head was dismissed for a four-ball duck in the first over. Kagiso Rabada then struck twice across his first two overs to remove Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan as well.

SRH were left reeling at 23-3, and their batting collapse only worsened as the GT pacers ran riot. The visitors were eventually bowled out for just 86 runs, marking only the second time in their history that they were bowled out before hitting three figures.

Zaheer Khan felt that poor shot selection contributed to the early dismissals rather than the nature of the pitch.

“We have seen SRH faltering like this in the last season as well, when the conditions do not go in their favor a bit, they seem to be in trouble. Today, we saw that aspect once again from SRH. Here, the top order failed with their adaptability,” he said on Cricbuzz.

“If you look at the first three wickets, you cannot say it happened because of the pitch, that was in your hands. SRH were thinking that they will attack like usual, score 70-75 runs in the powerplay, and then GT would be out of the game completely. When that backfires, you get to see this,” he added.

SRH’s woeful record against GT and the Narendra Modi Stadium continues with this alarming defeat. The IPL 2016 champions have now lost six straight games against the opposition, with their last win over them coming in the 2022 season.

“They will come and play in the same way again” – Mohit Sharma predicts SRH to stick with same approach despite massive failure against GT in IPL 2026

Former India cricketer Mohit Sharma opined that this is not the time in the campaign to second-guess the batting approach, despite the manner in which they bundled out for a paltry total in testing conditions. He further added that the SRH backroom staff should avoid dissecting this loss too much and move on quickly from it.

“You can say that the shot selection was wrong, but if you look at the mindset of their team, they will look to chase down a 166-run target in 13 overs. They have themselves said in the past that they go for 150, and do not believe in 170-odd scores. So, if they are discussing that their shot selection was wrong or questioning their approach, then there might be something wrong from SRH’s point of view. But, if they accept that they got all out for 86 while sticking to their approach, then it is fine,” Mohit Sharma said.

“I don’t think this defeat, or the nature of this loss will affect Abhishek, Ishan, Head, or Klaasen. They will come and play in the same way again. So, it is better to forget this as a one-off day and move on. There should not be any discussion only, and in the next game they should come in with the mindset that was there earlier,” he continued.

SRH will next face the in-form Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, on Monday, May 18. The Pat Cummins-led side are placed third in the points table with 14 points in 12 matches.