SRH's Aggressive Plan Falters In IPL 2024 Final Against KKR: Simon Helmot

Chennai, May 27 (PTI): Sunrisers Hyderabad assistant coach Simon Helmot attributed his team's poor batting performance in the IPL final against Kolkata Knight Riders to a few effective deliveries. The aggressive strategy fell apart early in the match, leading to an eight-wicket defeat after scoring just 113 runs.

KKR chased down the target in just over 10 overs to secure their third IPL trophy on Sunday night. "We were not going to change our brand or approach. We wanted to be aggressive but also smart and work the situations through," Helmot said during the post-match press conference.

"Our plan certainly wasn't to get bowled out for 113 in the 18th over. We played in a really positive way, but a few good deliveries (from KKR bowlers) early on put us on the back foot. Unfortunately, it was one of those days," he added.

Batting first, SRH's top-order struggled, with three batters dismissed for single figures. Big-hitting opener Travis Head fell for his third duck in four matches, dismissed by left-arm pacer Vaibhav Arora.

"Travis is experienced in playing left-arm pace. We have had games where both he and Abhishek (Sharma) have scored runs," Helmot stated. "Obviously, we couldn't get as much (support) from the middle order as we would have liked, but it was a fairly good ball to get rid of him (Head)," he added.

Praising KKR's performance this season, Helmot acknowledged the Shreyas Iyer-led franchise's aggressive mentality throughout the season. "We have got to give credit to KKR. They have had a great season, winning 79 per cent of their games and playing an aggressive brand with the bat, ball and on the field. But, we will come (back) hard next season," he continued.

"They (KKR) are a very balanced unit with their four pace bowlers and two very accomplished spinners. They have been a terrific team with an excellent batting depth and are deserving victors in this IPL," Helmot added.

Standout Performances

KKR pacers excelled with Andre Russell taking three wickets, while Mitchell Starc and Harshit Rana each claimed two wickets. Rana has been a standout performer this season, finishing as the team's second-highest wicket-taker after spinner Varun Chakravarthy.

"He is a tricky competitor. He has some variations, especially with the quicker and full balls. He's got those slower ones as well," Helmot said about Rana. "He certainly has the ability to adapt. There is a rich battery of fast bowlers in India, and that's what the IPL often brings out, which is a good offer for the Indian team."

Positives for SRH

When asked about positives in SRH's performance this season, Helmot credited pacers T Natarajan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar along with all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.

"I think Nattu and Bhuvi had a terrific finish to the season, along with Nitish Reddy, who is also probably one of the best fielders in the competition," Helmot said.

"...it's no fluke that we managed to turn the tables from our (bottom-place) finish last year. We will use it as a catalyst coming into the season next year," he concluded.