May 6, 2025 - IPL 2025 started well for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) team, but they could not keep up the momentum and their dream of reaching the playoffs was broken. SRH was scheduled to play against Delhi Capitals (DC) yesterday, May 5, in Hyderabad. However, after DC's first innings, rain interrupted the match and it was eventually called off.

With this result, SRH was knocked out of the playoffs race. After the match, SRH coach Daniel Vettori analysed the team’s string of losses.

Coach on SRH's Poor Performance

Vettori explained that the team’s batting was not aggressive enough and the pitch conditions in Hyderabad were also not as expected, which made it tough for the batters.

Vettori said, “I didn’t say I support aggressive batting. I said we try to judge the conditions. This year, the conditions were not what we expected. Last season, we saw many high-scoring matches here. But this time, the pitches were different and not easy for batters.

“We always talk about reading the conditions, understanding the match and making the right decisions. I believe our players are naturally aggressive, but this season was about understanding what was needed each day.”

Struggles at Home

SRH hosted six matches this season. Of the 11 innings played, the team managed to score more than 200 runs only four times. In comparison, it happened seven times in 12 innings last year. According to Vettori, this year the pitches supported fast bowlers more.

The coach added: “Only two pitches saw scores above 250. But the other four pitches helped fast bowlers. Spinners didn’t get much help, but the new ball was tricky. It didn’t come easily onto the bat, making shot-making hard. And IPL has some of the best new-ball bowlers, who took advantage of these conditions.”

Overall Performance

So far in IPL 2025, SRH has played 11 matches. Of these, they won only 3, lost 7 and one match was cancelled due to rain.