SRH Coach Questioned Over Aggressive Approach Despite Chasing Modest 169 vs GT. His Reply
Sunrisers Hyderabad were bowled out for 86 runs while chasing a target of 169 against the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2026.
Sunrisers Hyderabad suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match on Tuesday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. SRH seemed to have done well in restricting GT to a score of 168/5, but what unfolded next was a spectacle of pace bowling. The likes of Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, and Gujarat Titans bowled exceptional spells of fast bowling to bowl out Hyderabad for just 86 runs in 14.5 overs. Despite the nature of the defeat, SRH coach Daniel Vettori doesn't feel there's a need for the team to alter its approach.
Despite chasing a mediocre target, considering the current trends, Sunrisers' opening pair of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma looked to start on an attacking note. The result was that the team lost both openers in the first couple of overs. In the powerplay, SRH were 4 down for just 32 runs.
"We always want to get off to a good start, that's our MO through the power play," Daniel Vettori, the head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad, said in the press conference. "Today, even though they bowled exceptionally well, there were a couple of unfortunate dismissals for the first two, and then from there it was tough to really regroup as they just keep putting pressure on. We knew coming up against their bowling line-up, and the fact that they had five seamers plus Rashid, was always going to be a challenge. We didn't get the start we wanted, and they were able to capitalise the whole way through. It was a really good bowling performance; we saw a hostile spell by Rabada and Siraj to start up, and then Jason Holder was exceptional with his lengths tonight."
SRH delayed sending the in-form Heinrich Klaasen after Abhishek and Head's early departures. Klaasen, who usually bats at the No. 4 spot, came in at No. 6, with Smaran Ravichandran and Salil Arora promoted over him. Vettori said that the change in batting order was down to the early top-order collapse.
"When it's 23 for 3, the fact that we sent Smaran in, we knew that we wanted to push Klaasen back a little bit to have more of an opportunity through those middle stages. Sometimes you have to sit back and say it was a really good bowling performance and when you're put in that situation, you sometimes make mistakes.
"I don't put any blame on the batting unit; they've been exceptional this year. Every team throughout the IPL is going to have their small blips once in a while and ours was tonight, but I don't see any reason why they won't bounce back," he explained.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Gujarat Titans
Daniel Vettori