Sunrisers Hyderabad are seldom talked about during IPL discussions. Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians take up most of the space followed by Royal Challengers Bangalore and then the rest. They always remain under the shadows of the seven others and most head into a season as an underdog. Amid this, they were struck down by a spate of injuries that took away crucial players like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mitchell Marsh, Vijay Shankar. Kane Williamson as well missed a few owing to niggles while Wriddhiman Saha missed the playoffs after providing momentum towards the back-end. And all affected the teams ability to find the right balance and matches kept slipping away from their hands. But they eventually found the much-needed momentum towards the back-end, defeated the top three and extended their streak of playing the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season where they lost in Qualifier 2 to Delhi Capitals.
Despite not making the final, captain David Warner was elated and proud of his team to have risen amid the "Big Three" talks.
"First and foremost, no one gave us a chance at the start. Everyone talked of the big three: Mumbai, DC and RCB. So I am really proud of our campaign," said Warner after SRH's 17-run defeat in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
SRH finished third in the points table and then defeated RCB in the Eliminator to have a chance at the final before being stopped by the Capitals, who made their maiden final.
Warner pointed out the big positives from 2020 season and hailed the manner in which they scripted a comeback in the second half of the tournament.
"Natarajan, Rashid, Manish Pandey have been the positives. That back half in the tournament is how we like to play our cricket. I think with the ball and the bat we improved after doing badly but our attitude in the field let us down. Yes there were injuries but you have to work with what you have got. I am proud to get where we are today as no one gave us a chance," Warner added.
