Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) bowling coach James Franklin candidly admitted that his side fell short during the crucial death overs in their recent IPL 2025 clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens. Despite a promising start with early wickets of Sunil Narine and Quinton de Kock, SRH allowed KKR to post a daunting total of 200, thanks largely to a brutal final flourish.
The turning point came in the last four overs of the KKR innings, where the home side plundered 66 runs. Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh capitalised on some wayward bowling and lack of discipline from the SRH attack, pushing the total well past par on a tricky surface. Chasing 201, SRH folded meekly for just 120 runs in 16.4 overs, suffering a heavy 80-run defeat.
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Reflecting on the performance in the post-match press conference, James Franklin acknowledged that SRH failed to execute their bowling plans during the latter half of the innings. “At the halfway stage, they were around 85 for two. If we had executed better in the final ten overs, we could have restricted them to something between 170 and 180,” he said.
SRH Coach Contradicts Skipper Pat Cummins’ Verdict On 80-Run KKR Defeat #KKRvSRH #IPL2025 https://t.co/ch7h8gMNhq
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Franklin, who represented Mumbai Indians during the 2011 and 2012 seasons, also stressed the need for introspection. “As a coach, you always wonder if we could’ve been braver or made better decisions. We’ll have those discussions internally before our next game.”
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The Orange Army now find themselves at the bottom of the table and will be desperate to turn things around when they host Gujarat Titans on Sunday, April 6, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. With playoff hopes already looking shaky, SRH will need to address their death-bowling woes quickly to stay in contention.
