IPL 2017 Playoffs: 5 reasons why Sunrisers Hyderabad are a team to beat

The defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have entered their third Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs in the last five years. David Warner-led side will enter an elimination showdown against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Wednesday. 

Sunrisers Hyderabad, just like KKR have been consistent with their performances in the last couple of seasons. T20 cricket is all about hitting the right chords and maintaining that consistency. The result of which is the success, which SRH had in the last season and somewhat in this season as well. 

Warner put together a brilliant show in their last match against Gujarat Lions and powered SRH into the IPL 2017 Playoffs. SRH finished at the third spot in the points table. If Rising Pune Supergiant would have lost against Kings XI Punjab, SRH would have finished at the second place.

Here are 5 reasons why SRH are a team to beat in this IPL 2017 playoff:

## The opening pair of David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan -- The left-handed duo has notched up 1072 runs in 13 matches. Warner has an average of just a little above 60 and Dhawan averages 39. These two have done most of the hard work for SRH in the batting department.  

## The death bowling of Bhuvneshwar Kumar -- The Indian seamer is the highest wicket-taker of the IPL 2017 so far. He has added 25 scalps to his name at an incredible average of 14.32. His death bowling has been undoubtedly the best so far. 

## Rashid Khan - the revelation -- The Afghanistan wonder kid has done exactly what he has been asked to do - pick wickets and keep it tight. The 19-year-old leggie has picked up 17 wickets at an incredible economy rate 6.67. 

## Fielding -- Sunrisers Hyderabad have been brilliant on the field. Misfielding has been one of the highlights of the IPL 2017, but SRH can be exempted from that. Apart from one or two catches, which were dropped, SRH have been extremely good on the field. 

## Contribution from the middle order -- Yuvraj Singh (243 runs), Moises Henriques (277 runs) and Kane Williamson (232 runs) have formed the backbone of the SRH batting lineup so far. Thus, it is understandable, why SRH have been right on top of their game. 

• SRH
• Sunrisers Hyderabad
• IPL