IPL 2018: Sunil Gavaskar Reckons SRH Lost the Momentum After a Solid Start

Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar said that Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) has veered off the track after a remarkable start. The Orange Army had won their nine matches out of the first eleven. However, Kane Williamson-led team lost their last three league matches to lose on the momentum.

Meanwhile, it is ideal if a team peaks in the later phase of the league matches to carry forward the momentum into playoffs.

Unfortunately, Sunrisers lost the early boil. However, their good work in the early phase helped them finish at the summit of the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) points table.

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Sunrisers has lost some steam.

On the other hand, Chennai Super Kings was able to get the much-needed win in their last league match against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). Men in Yellow will like to be at the top of their game in the qualifier.

Gavaskar wrote in his TOI column, “Sunrisers have lost some steam as they have lost their last three games while the loss to Delhi seems to have given Chennai just the jolt they needed.It’s hard to predict a winner but going by the league results it could well be another finish in the final over”.

Super Kings had lost their match against Delhi. Hence, Gavaskar believes that it was a good wake-up call for the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led team. The Little Master added that Chennai qualifying for the playoffs was expected.

Gavaskar further noted down, “Chennai Super Kings qualifying for the knockouts was on expected lines. In fact, looking at their past record, it would have been a surprise if they had not made the last four. Their loss at the hands of Delhi Daredevils was a good wake-up call and they had to scale down their ambitions of topping the league table”.

The former Indian opener believes that CSK will have to be at the top of their game against Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan.

However, the legendary batsman added that Siddharth Kaul has lost out on his form. Kaul was on the expensive side in the last few games.

It is going to be a battle between top two teams:

The first man to scale the mountain of 10,000 Test runs added, “They will have to contend with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan, who have been brilliant throughout the league stage.Siddharth Kaul has gone off the boil a bit as he is trying to bowl quicker. He is giving the batsman just the pace they want to power the ball away”.

Sunil Gavaskar further added it is good for the 2016 edition champions that Shikhar Dhawan has regained his form.

However, the veteran cricketer added that Manish Pandey and Shakib Al Hasan will have to raise their game.

The former batsman penned down, “Shikhar Dhawan has regained his touch and Williamson has never batted as well in the IPL as he has done this season. Manish Pandey and Shakib will need to lift their game for the final stage of the tournament”.

There is little to choose between the top two sides of the tournament. Sunrisers bowling is their greatest strength whereas CSK batting has done a good job for them.