Bhuvneshwar Kumar reckoned that the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) must work on several aspects going ahead in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL). On Sunday, the Orange Army got off to a horrendous after losing to the Rajasthan Royals by 72 runs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Ahmedabad.

After being asked to chase down 204, the Sunrisers lost wickets in clumps and eventually finished with 131 for the loss off eight wickets. Once SRH lost Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi for ducks in the very first over of their run-chase, RR didn’t allow them to stage a comeback.

However, Bhuvneshwar, who is standing in for Aiden Markram, lauded the bowlers for making a strong comeback after Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson scored fifties for the Royals.  

“We must just work at it and move forward. The last five-six overs in our bowling and Umran's knock at the end - they were a couple of positives,” Bhuvneshwar said.

Bhuvneshwar also said that the return of their skipper, Markram, who played in the ODI series against the Netherlands, would strengthen their squad.

“There was something in it for the slow bowlers. It is the first match of the season and there is a lot to improve. South Africans are coming back, our captain is coming back and we will be a much better batting unit,” he stated

Need to execute our plans: Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar, meanwhile, is not a whole lot worried despite his team’s heavy defeat in their first match.

“We need to execute our plans and hopefully we will get better. It was a pretty good track and like what we get in Hyderabad. We can prepare whatever we want (in terms of the pitch) but we are not too worried about that,” Bhuvneshwar added.

The Sunrisers are scheduled to lock horns with KL Rahul’s Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Friday, April 7 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow.