Credit: IPL
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) coach James Franklin has expressed his discontent over the team’s captain Pat Cummins’ remark, following the Orange Army’s humiliating 80-run loss against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the iconic Eden Gardens in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. SRH started well in the game against defending champions, dismissing the hosts’ openers Quinton de Kock and Sunil Narine early. However, they couldn’t capitalise the start as KKR recovered due to the 2016 champion side’s frail bowling in the final overs and posted a competitive total of 200 runs on the board. In reply to Kolkata’s total, SRH surrendered on 120 and lost three games in a row.
Following the heavy defeat, SRH captain Cummins looked disappointed and said the target could’ve been attained but the batters fell short. However, Franklin didn’t agree with the Australian and said it was the bowling unit’s laxity in the death overs that handed KKR the momentum. "It's likely a combination of both the assessment and the execution. For example, the 65 runs off the last four overs probably reflect that we didn't get it quite right. At the halfway stage, KKR were 84 or 85 for two. If we'd managed the back 10 overs better, we probably could have kept them to 170-180, but we didn't quite execute," remarked the former New Zealand all-rounder.
He also added, "As a coach, sometimes you reflect and wonder, could we have done things better? Could we have been a bit braver in some aspects? Those are conversations we'll have in the coming days before we go again on Sunday. It's about reflecting, particularly with the players who were out there, and making sure we come back better, especially with our execution in the death overs."
SRH find themselves at the bottom of the points tally in IPL 2025
With the crushing defeat, SRH are at the bottom of the points table with three massive losses and just one win in the tournament. The Orange Army will host Gujarat Titans (GT) on April 6 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Gujarat have landed on Hyderabad’s soil after beating Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) convincingly on April 2.
KKR, who were in the 10th spot on the tally before the SRH match, are now in the fifth spot with their second win. Their colossal victory also boosted their net run rate. Kolkata will endeavour to stand tall against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), who will be playing against reigning champions in the city of joy on April 8.
