IPL 2023: SRH loss boils down to skipper Aiden Markram, says Deep Dasgupta

Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Deep Dasgupta feels Sunrisers Hyderabad’s loss against Kolkata Knight Riders boils down to their skipper Deep Dasgupta. KKR went on to win the thrilling contest by five runs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad on Thursday.

KKR posted a decent score of 171 runs on the board after Nitish Rana won the toss and decided to bat first. Rana and Rinku Singh added 61 runs for the fourth wicket as they scored 42 and 46 runs respectively to help their team get past the 170-run mark.

On the other hand, Sunrisers Hyderabad got off to a horrible start as they found themselves in the troubled waters at 53-4. Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen added a crucial alliance of 70 runs but the former could not score runs at a decent strike rate.

The SRH skipper meandered to 41 runs off 40 balls and thus the required run rate kept soaring high. The South African could not get a move on as he struggled to find boundaries at regular intervals.

“It seemed alright. Then you suddenly realized they have allowed the game to slip. I think it boils down to Markram actually. The way he got out, the time when he got out. I think that innings, if he had finished it, it would have been a really good innings. It hasn’t and you look back at the innings and go, not a good strike-rate, got out at the wrong time and so maybe, he has got to take a bit of the blame I guess,” said Dasgupta while talking to ESPN Cricinfo.

The Orange Army has managed only three wins in nine matches they have played and they will need to win all of their remaining five matches to stand a chance to qualify for the playoff stages.

SRH’s bowlers have done a decent job for the team in the ongoing season but their batters have failed to deliver the goods. Sunrisers Hyderabad will next take on Rajasthan Royals on Sunday at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.