The 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season has taken a surprising turn for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Once seen as title contenders and a pre-tournament favourite, SRH now finds itself at the bottom of the IPL 2025 points table with a worrying -1.69 Net Run Rate (NRR) and just one win in five matches.

While it is early days in the tournament, should the franchise and last year’s finalist be worried and hit the panic button?

SRH’s Ultra-Aggressive Strategy Under Fire

After a promising opening match win, where Ishan Kishan—a new SRH recruit—smashed a brilliant century, Sunrisers Hyderabad looked poised to dominate IPL 2025. The team’s ultra-aggressive batting approach, which had taken them to the IPL 2024 finals, returned in full force.

Many experts even predicted SRH could be the first IPL team to breach the 300-run mark this season.

However, the strategy seems to have quickly backfired.

Since that opening win, SRH has suffered four back-to-back defeats, including a convincing 7-wicket loss to Gujarat Titans. Despite the talent-packed squad and heavy investments in batting firepower, their inability to adapt to match conditions has hurt them significantly.

The team is packed with power hitters, and they added more firepower in their batting by picking Ishant Kishan and a few additional batters into the squad.

After their opening game win, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) showed why they were considered a pre-tournament favourite. Ishan Kishan scored a fantastic century, making SRH new buy a great one.

The team played to their potential. The ultra-aggressive style of play made fans believe that this would be the first team to cross the 300+ score in IPL 2025.

Things suddenly took a ‘U-turn’ after the first game, and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the blink of an eye lost their ‘Mojo’

Daniel Vettori Speaks Out After SRH’s 4th Straight Defeat

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) head coach Daniel Vettori has handed a reality check to his batters.

While Vettori supported the franchise’s ultra-aggressive approach, he cautioned that the batters need to learn to respect the conditions and the opposition bowlers.

“I think we know the style is going to work, but we have to respect conditions, and we have to assess really well, and that’s probably something we haven’t done. Also, [we] have to respect how well other teams are bowling, putting a lot of planning into our top three, and they haven’t been able to execute it at times,” Vettori said in the post-match press conference, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

SRH’s Batting-Heavy Team Balance Under Scrutiny

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) adopted an ultra-aggressive approach, which gave dividends in the last season, as they reached the finals. They have continued with the same approach in the 2025 Indian Premier League season too. This, however, has not yielded results with just one win in five matches.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) is currently at the bottom of the points table with a -1.69 NRR

Should SRH Panic Now?

The former New Zealand spinner also asserted that he and captain Pat Cummins are not the ones who panic. However, he acknowledged that losing four games in a row made their journey in IPL 2025 tougher.

“I don’t think Pat [Cummins] has ever panicked in his life, and I think I’m pretty similar. But we understand the ramifications of losing four in a row and how difficult it makes the season. It’s tough because obviously you come into the season with high expectations after [finishing as runners-up] last year and then a very good start,” he added.

The reason why Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) reached the finals of the 2024 season was due to their fearless batting. This approach covered their flaws in the bowling department.

But their strategy also proved to be their downfall in the 2024 finals when Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) crippled the batting line up by taking early wickets. KKR’s bowling helped to win their 3rd IPL title.

This year too, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) has adopted a batting-heavy strategy. The team believes that they can bat the opponent out of the contest.

While this worked last year, it may not work this season with all teams boosting their bowling with some strategic buys in the Mega Auction.

SRH in IPL 2025 So Far:

• Matches Played: 5

• Wins: 1

• Losses: 4

• Position: Bottom of IPL 2025 points table

• Net Run Rate: -1.69

• Strategy: Ultra-aggressive batting approach

• Key Player: Ishan Kishan (Century in opener)

SuperSports360 Verdict

SRH’s gung-ho approach made them finalists in IPL 2024, but in IPL 2025, the same formula is proving ineffective. With just one win from five games, it’s time to balance aggression with awareness.

Daniel Vettori’s warning to the team is timely, but whether SRH adapts or continues to collapse remains to be seen.

Is it too late for a turnaround? Or can SRH learn from its mistakes and bounce back in IPL 2025?