The Indian Premier League is one of the most competitive tournaments in the world. The quality of cricket in the league is second to none and that makes IPL an exciting affair for both fans and players involved.
The franchises in the IPL also have a tough task on their hands, right from selecting the players to branding the team. However, the most important aspect is the performance of the team on the field and that is what matters to the fans at the end of the day.
Sunrisers Hyderabad entered the IPL arena in the year 2013 by replacing Deccan Chargers. They made an impact straightaway by qualifying for the playoffs in their debut season and have made it to the playoffs six times so far.
Here is the year-wise list of the performance of SRH in the IPL
|
Year |
Performance |
Captain |
| 2013 | Playoffs – fourth position | Kumar Sangakara, Cameron White |
| 2014 | Sixth | Shikhar Dhawan, Darren Sammy |
| 2015 | Sixth | David Warner |
| 2016 | Champions | David Warner |
| 2017 | Playoffs- Third position | David Warner |
| 2018 | Playoffs – Runners-up | Kane Williamson |
| 2019 | Playoffs- Fourth | Kane Williamson |
| 2020 | Playoffs – Third | David Warner |
| 2021 | Eight position | David Warner, Kane Williamson |
| 2022 | Eight position | Kane Williamson |
Journey to playoffs – Year-wise
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2013 – Fourth position
The debut season for Sunrisers Hyderabad was a roller-coaster ride with 10 wins and 6 losses in the 16 matches they played in the group stage. They finished fourth on the points table and lost to Rajasthan Royals in the eliminator.
Kumar Sangakara started as the captain but he was replaced by Cameron White midway through the season because of the former’s lack of form with the bat.
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s batting could not get big scores consistently in the season but their bowling led by Dale Steyn was one of the best in the tournament which eventually took them through to the playoffs.
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2016 – Champions
Sunrisers Hyderabad led by the spirited leader David Warner won the IPL title in 2016. It was a very intense season with cut-throat competition and after playing 14 matches in the group stage, Sunrisers finished in the third position with eight wins and 6 losses.
In the playoffs, Sunrisers Hyderabad lifted their game and won the Eliminator, Qualifier 2 and the final against Royal Challengers Bangalore to lift the trophy.
David Warner was the highest scorer with the bat as he scored 848 runs in 17 matches while Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the Purple Cap holder with 23 wickets in 17 games.
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2017 – Third position
Sunrisers Hyderabad came into the season as defending champions and on the back of some solid performances by David Warner and Bhuvneshwar Kumar also made it to the playoffs.
They won 8 matches out of the 14 they played in the playoffs but were beaten by Kolkata Knight Riders in the Eliminator. Rashid Khan also made a big impact this season alongside Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the bowling department.
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2018 – Runners-up
The 2018 season saw Kane Williamson taking the charge as the captain of the side in the absence of David Warner. It turned out to be a memorable season for the Orange Army as they topped the points table with 9 wins in 14 games.
Kane Williamson was the star with the bat and won the Orange Cap with 735 runs in 17 matches. In the bowling department, Rashid Khan emerged as the second-highest wicket-taker of the season with 21 wickets in 17 games. However, they could not cross the final hurdle and lost to Chennai Super Kings in the final.
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2019 – Fourth
This was their fourth consecutive playoff appearance. However, they could not match the quality of performance they delivered in the 2018 season. Warner returned to the team and was the leading run-scorer of the season yet again.
Sunrisers won 6 matches and lost 8 matches in the group stage and finished in fourth place eventually losing the Eliminator to Delhi Capitals.
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2020 – Third
David Warner returned as the captain of the franchise in the 2020 season and with 7 wins and 7 losses in the four group-stage games, Sunrisers managed to qualify for the playoffs yet again.
They won the Eliminator against RCB but failed to overcome Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 2. T Natarajan emerged as one of the stars of the season and it was again the bowling unit of Sunrisers Hyderabad that took them over the line in most of the games.
Thus, SRH have qualified for the playoffs six times in their history, which is a pretty successful record given the intense competition in IPL.
David Warner has been their most important player and it was under his captaincy that they won the title in 2016. Kane Williamson has also led Hyderabad three times for a full season while in 2021, he took over the captaincy midway through the season.
Overall, bowling has always been Sunrisers Hyderabad’s stronger suit right from the start when they had the likes of Dale Steyn leading the attack. Rashid Khan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were integral parts of their team during their peak time but the 2021 and 2022 seasons have not gone their way.
CONCLUSION
Sunrisers Hyderabad has been a pretty successful franchise in the IPL but they need to reinvent themselves now after failures in the last two seasons.
They have released their skipper Kane Williamson and another important batter Nicholas Pooran along with a few other players ahead of the 2023 season. We can now expect them to build a new team around a new captain and with Brian Lara as a head coach, Sunrisers Hyderabad will surely be hoping for a strong comeback in the 2023 IPL.
