Sunrisers Hyderabad - Shrewd holders up for repeat performance

The ninth edition of the Indian Premier League couldn't have been a better written script for the franchise from the south-east part of India. Led stunningly well by David Warner, the city of Hyderabad found success for the second time, albeit under a different set of owners. The journey started in Bengaluru and ended at the same venue - but the results were as different as chalk and cheese.

This was a journey of a team that didn't have the biggest stars but made up for it with performances that made one sit up and notice. David Warner was the face of the team and he didn't disappoint - 848 runs at an average of a little over 60 and a strike-rate of 150+ was immense. His opening partner, Shikhar Dhawan, was the ideal foil. 501 runs at a little over 38, but at a significantly modest strike-rate of 116.8. Together, they paved the way for strong starts - a significant factor in the title winning run.

The second biggest factor was Sunrisers' depth in their bowling resource. Bhuvneshwar Kumar led the attack with aplomb - with 23, he was by far the highest wicket taker. The old warhorse, Ashish Nehra, was there too - guiding the team despite injury, a bunch of hopeful Indian back-ups and of course there was Mustafizur Rahman. At INR 1.4 crores, the Bangladeshi teenage sensation was a steal. Little did Royal Challengers Bangalore and the six other franchises know that they had dug their own graves by letting Hyderabad runaway with the pocket dynamo. He was so good that he kept New Zealand's Trent Boult - a wily performer himself, waiting on the benches.

Rahman turned out to be the star of the show, the jewel upon which the Sunrisers laid their siege. They had finished sixth in an ultra competitive IPL8, gained just two points more - or precisely one win more - enough to send them third and into the playoffs. Kolkata Knight Riders were easily tackled, Gujarat Lions' fun was brought to an end and they marched on to break a million Bangalore hearts at the Chinnaswamy - beating the hosts and favourites, RCB, by an 8-run margin.

As 2017 dawns, so does the hopes and aspirations of the 'city of pearls'. Can they join Chennai Super Kings as the only team to win back-to-back titles? Can they be the first city to nab the trophy thrice? On paper, they have every reason to believe they can.

Strengths

A finely balanced outfit, the Sunrisers have stacked their team with a host of quality allrounders. The batting is well stocked and the X-factor of Yuvraj Singh comes into play. Add versatile allrounders and a real depth in their pace bowling options, this is one team that has consistently defended modest totals. With Warner at the helm and the brains trust of Tom Moody and VVS Laxman working behind the scenes, the Sunrisers have the ingredients for another successful outing.

Weaknesses

The Sunrisers rode on the heroics of David Warner to post fighting totals last season but made no worthwhile additions to strengthen their batting at this years's auctions. While the team management remains confident about their batting, the recent struggles of Warner and Dhawan would be a worry. They also did away with Boult, and face the tricky prospect of going through the season without Mustafizur, who has been advised to skip the tournament to stay fit and available for international assignments. Chris Jordan and Ben Laughlin can bowl at the death, and so can Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan, but whether they can be as effective as Mustafizur remains to be seen.

Opportunities

In a shrewd move, Hyderabad went the full distance in securing the services of Afghanistan stars, Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi. It has not only opened up new avenues and a new fan base, but it has also immensely strengthened Sunrisers' spin roster. Particularly interesting is the buy of 18-year old Rashid Khan. In his brief international career, the leg-spinner has spun a web around his opponents - most of them being fellow associates. If he clicks and that's a big if - he could well turn out to be the second straight smart buy by the franchise - after they secured the services of Mustafizur last season.

Threats

The biggest challenge for the defending champions will be that of defending their title. As is the case in any similar tournament, the several other teams are vying for glory tend to improve upon every aspect of their game to win the title themselves. It helped Sunrisers that they were dark horses and rank outsiders last season, but 2017 will be a completely different ball game. Expect teams to crank up their performance levels when they go up against the holders.

If the 2016 auctions did teach the Sunrisers a thing, it was to not go behind only star value. Many of their buys turned out to be trump cards. The team management followed a similar pattern this time around as well. The 18-year old Rashid was complemented with 45-year old Pravin Tambe. Jordan and Laughlin came as back-ups to Mustafizur, Nabi was this season's steal, Eklavya Dwivedi filled the gap created by the exit of Aditya Tare while Mohammad Siraj and Tanmay Agarwal - two locals who performed exceedingly well at the domestic level found their first home in the IPL.The new arrivals perfectly supplement the existing set of first-choice players - giving the team management plenty of options.

What the schedule holds

The holders begin their title defense with two tough home games - against last season's runners-up Royal Challengers Bangalore and table-toppers Gujarat Lions. It is then followed by two equally tough away games in Mumbai and Kolkata. Home and away games then follow in an equal mix - which means the David Warner-led team will be crisscrossing across the country - from Hyderabad to Pune, then to Bengaluru, Mohali and then back to Hyderabad - before travelling again north to Delhi. They come back to Hyderabad and then finish their league campaign in Kanpur. It will be a period of hectic travel - one that can either forge a sense of unity in the team or leave them as weary travelers.

Ideal playing XI: David Warner (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Moises Henriques, Yuvraj Singh, Naman Ojha (wk), Deepak Hooda, Ben Cutting, Rashid Khan, Bipul Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra.