Vettori: 'We understand the ramifications of losing four in a row'

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) head coach Daniel Vettori will continue to back his top order's aggressive style despite another batting failure against Gujarat Titans (GT), but accepted that the batters must "respect conditions" and the fact that opposition bowlers are "putting a lot of planning into our top three".

SRH's famed line-up misfired again in Hyderabad as they were restricted to 152 for 8 in 20 overs. In reply, GT took a mere 16.4 overs to hunt down their target and win by seven wickets.

"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," Vettori said after SRH's fourth straight loss in IPL 2025. "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 suggested that the pitch for Sunday night's game hadn't been "a typical Hyderabad wicket", adding that the conditions were slow and "really tough" for the batters. He said SRH were targeting a total in the range of 160-170, and fell short of a reasonable total by around 20 runs, with the conditions easing out under lights.

"I think they saw that the wicket was really tough and the assessment coming back was 160-170 would be a good score, which is what we anticipated at the start of the day," he said. "So we knew that those guys, if they could get themselves in, build a partnership and then hopefully attack the back end and we were pretty close to that in the end.

"We needed 20 more runs to put the pressure on and then obviously bowl really well. But I think their [GT's] understanding of what was required was spot on."

SRH started IPL 2025 on a high, racking up 286 for 6 against Rajasthan Royals, but it's gone downhill since. While it isn't panic stations yet, Vettori said SRH understood the need to bounce back before their next game against Punjab Kings on April 12.

"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," Vettori said. "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.

"But we just haven't been near our best in the last four games. I think that's all three disciplines. I think the barometer of most teams is how their fielding's going, and we've been pretty poor in the field.

"So those will be the work-ons between now and the Punjab game. And we know that if we can get on a roll, then we're still a very good team. We're just not performing the way that we should be."

While much of the focus around SRH's defeats has centered on their batters, Vettori felt they needed a lift in "all three disciplines".

"We haven't been able to click in a game. We look back to last year and our skills were putting big scores on and then sort of holding on for dear life with the ball," he said. "But we haven't been able to put those big scores together through a combination of things.

"The good thing about the IPL is there's quick turnarounds, there's opportunities to do well and there's individual performances within those games. So I think there's still some confidence within the batting group, but it's the collective that needs to stand up now."