Picture Credit: X
Former England captain Michael Vaughan mocked the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) strategic time-out with a jibe on social media. During the IPL 2025 match between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, the latter required only two runs to win their first game of the competition. However, the strategic time-out was opted and a break was taken. After the hiatus, David Miller hit the winning runs and took Lucknow home with five wickets in hand and 23 balls to spare in the game. The victory also helped LSG to open their account on the points tally while SRH recorded their first loss of the tournament after starting their competition with an emphatic 44-run win against Rajasthan Royals (RR).
Vaughan found the strategic time-out incident funny and took to X to write a humorous post. "Only in the IPL can you have a strategic time out with 2 needed off 24 balls with 5 wkts remaining," wrote Vaughan. Following SRH’s crushing defeat, Vaughan spoke to CricBuzz and remarked that the 2016 IPL champions need to ensure that their bowling attack doesn’t lose confidence while playing on Hyderabad’s flat surface. Renowned bowling names such as Mohammed Shami, Pat Cummins, and Adam Zampa looked helpless against LSG batters.
"Obviously, we talk about Hyderabad's batting, the power, and the huge scores they get. They've got to be careful that the bowlers don't lose confidence. You know, because their bowlers are bowling on this road. You look at those numbers. I mean, Pat Cummins has done well tonight, but he went for 60 in the first game,” said former England skipper.
Vaughan advise SRH to be flexible after the LSG drubbing in IPL 2025
Vaughan also recommended SRH’s batting unit to be flexible and play as per the circumstances. He also believed that the match’s result would’ve been different if the Sunrisers had displayed astuteness against the Super Giants.
"I'm yet to see a team with a major event playing just one style of cricket. I'm just worried that the Sunrisers just play this one style of cricket, and they might just have to go up and down at the gears. Yes, go aggressive when you can, but it might not be possible every time you go out to bat," said the former England skipper.
