Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden has attributed Sunrisers Hyderabad's poor run in IPL 2025 to a lack of confidence and overthinking.
Hayden's remarks came after SRH suffered a heavy seven-wicket defeat against Mumbai Indians on Wednesday.
"The simplest explanation is just a lack of confidence. When you start losing the way SRH has, it's tough to bounce back. They were seen as benchmark batters, but right now they're far from that. This has led to issues in the middle order," said Hayden, speaking on JioStar.
Heinrich Klaasen's resilient 71-run knock helped SRH recover to post 143/8 after an early top-order collapse at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. However, comfortably in just 15.4 overs. Rohit Sharma's fluent 70 and Suryakumar Yadav's explosive 19-ball 40 powered Mumbai to 146/3, sealing their fourth consecutive win and propelling them from sixth to third in the points table.
Earlier, pacers Deepak Chahar and Trent Boult spearheaded a dominant bowling performance to help Mumbai Indians restrict Sunrisers Hyderabad to a modest total. Boult struck early with figures of 4/26, while Chahar supported brilliantly with 2/12, as SRH collapsed to 13/4 by the fifth over. It was Klaasen who steadied the innings with a composed half-century, providing some resistance after the top-order meltdown.
Hayden urged SRH to go back to basics. "They need to stop overthinking and focus on their own game. Right now, SRH are chasing this tournament, chasing combinations, and even chasing the form that once defined their powerful batting unit," he added.
With just two wins from eight matches, SRH are ninth on the points table, with their playoff hopes hanging by a thread. To realistically qualify, they need to win all six of their remaining games to reach 16 points. A 14-point finish could also suffice but would require favorable results from other fixtures, in addition to a significant improvement in their current Net Run Rate of -1.361.
If the Orange Army has to revive their campaign, a swift reset and fearless cricket will be essential.
