Ishan Kishan perished to a superb diving catch at cover by Ajinkya Rahane. ©BCCI/IPL
The Sunrisers Hyderabad boasted of a formidable batting outfit ahead of the IPL auctions in November last year, and that was further bolstered with Ishan Kishan's addition at the top, making for a fiery top-five on paper. Three left-handers at the top? Kishan batting out of position? Would it augur well for the 2024 runners-up? All those questions were seemingly put to rest in a daunting 286/6 in their season opener against the Rajasthan Royals, the left-hander himself setting it up with a blazing 106*.
However, three single-digit scores have followed thereafter, and with Abhishek Sharma too, yet to create an impact, it has further magnified SRH's over-reliance on their top-order. To put things into perspective, SRH's top-three average 48 and strike at 207.30 in wins since IPL 2024; the corresponding numbers in defeats are 14.46 and 131.51 respectively.
As for Kishan, a recurring theme in his mode of dismissals has been playing away from his body to the balls swinging or seaming away. He might've middled the one that swung away from good length and was undone by a spectacular catch by Ajinkya Rahane
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