IPL 2021: SRH vs RCB Game Plan 1 – How do you use Abdul Samad?
The sixth match of the IPL 2021 tournament between the blockbuster teams, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore, could all be about match-ups. Here, we take a look at a key game plan that could play a role in the sixth game of IPL 2021 – SRH vs RCB.
SRH’s defeat in their first game against KKR brought Abdul Samad and Manish Pandey under the spotlight. While Pandey had to cope with criticism, there were supportive voices for Samad.
SRH coach Trevor Bayliss defended their last-game decision, giving practice-match performance as a reason.
"Hindsight is wonderful. Vijay in our practice matches was one of our best players. He hit the ball a long way"
Bayliss on Shankar being played above Samad.#SRHvKKR
— Rohit Sankar (@imRohit_SN) April 11, 2021
However, it is pretty well known that Samad is a better six-hitter than Shankar (check the Ranji Trophy season where he topped the six-hitting chart with ease if you are a fan of red ball cricket!) – exactly what SRH needed then. Bayliss also said that Samad will get more opportunities as he gets more experience. However, the reverse is true – Samad will get more experience as he gets more opportunities.
SRH vs RCB: Abdul Samad’s under-utilisation
Sunrisers Hyderabad, or Irfan Pathan to be precise, deserve credit for Samad’s recruitment in IPL 2020. SRH bought Samad for his base price of 20 Lakh INR, making it one of the best long-term investments in the IPL history. However, SRH have failed to utilise him well so far.
Despite playing 12 matches in his debut season, Samad faced just 65 balls — with a balls-per-innings (BPI) ratio of about eight (in 8 innings) — in the tournament. In IPL 2020, among 54 batsmen who batted in top-7 at least as many as times Samad did, only Krunal Pandya and Abhishek Sharma had a lower BPI ratio.
ALSO READ: 4 Tactical errors by SRH vs KKR
While Mumbai’s batting line-up is much stronger and Krunal’s batting role has significantly decreased in the past few seasons, the usage of both youngsters by the Hyderabad-based franchise — with a comparatively weaker batting unit — has been appalling. Abhishek’s strike rate was about 127 but Samad stuck at 170+! There is no reason to not maximise his batting potential.
His entry points also reflect his incorrect usage. In his IPL career, the 92nd ball (15.2) of the innings is his first ball on average. Despite batting just eight times in the IPL, he has arrived as late as the 19th over on three occasions! He can’t face all the remaining 29 balls alone to make an impact. SRH need to utilise him better.
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Apart from their previous match, let’s a look at another occasion on which Samad could have been used better:
In the 17th match of IPL 2020, SRH were chasing 209 runs against Mumbai Indians. When Kane Williamson got out on the second ball of the 13th over, SRH needed 93 more runs at 12.57 RPO. Instead of promoting Samad to No. 5, SRH sent Priyam Garg and Abhishek Sharma before Samad.
Garg needs time to find that high-scoring gear and Abhishek’s strength is spin by some distance in comparison to pace. Thus, Samad would have been a perfect choice.
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SRH’s middle-order doesn’t inspire enough confidence in general, thus, their top-order batsmen as David Warner, Jonny Bairstow and Kane Williamson look to bat deep. The inclusion of the likes of Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar and Priyam Garg, at times, further delays Samad’s entry point.
SRH vs RCB: What can SRH and Abdul Samad do?
Samad has a stable base even against high-quality pace-bowling. All of his eight IPL sixes have come against express quicks — Jasprit Bumrah, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and Pat Cummins. No more info is needed!
The 19-year-old Samad has power, range and can play classical shots against pacers.
@IndianMourinho on Abdul Samad
Samad is also an excellent batsman against spinners. He is very powerful and capable of destroying spinners once he takes charge.
SRH need to use Samad as a finisher only. Both SRH and the national Indian side would want him to find his feet in that role only. Such batsmen are hard to find in T20s and they should be groomed accordingly, given the abundance of top-order players. However, SRH need to be proactive with his utilisation. Delaying his arrival time on the crease needlessly should be avoided. In high-run chases and to capitalise on good starts, the right-handed batsman deserves to be promoted.