Bowling is our strength, says Sunrisers' Henriques

They might have chased down some tricky targets to notch up three successive wins in IPL-9 but Sunrisers Hyderabad all-rounder Moises Henriques feels his team's strength lies in their potent bowling attack.

"It so happened that out of five games, we chased four times. We lost one of them and we won three. But I really feel that actually our strength is our bowling," he told PTI.

"So, if we have guys like Mustafizur (Rahman) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Barinder Sran bowling under pressure when we are bowling second, when we are having to defend, it probably would suit us even better than batting second.

"We have been very lucky that David scored runs quickly in the last three games in a row. But I still feel bowling is our strength as a team. So, if anything, batting first would probably, actually suit us better as a team," he said.

Though the team missed the services of seasoned Ashish Nehra due to injury, the left-arm fast bowler Barinder Sran rose to the occasion, he said.

"Obviously, in the first game it (Nehra's absence) hurt us a lot. Bangalore got a partnership going and it was very hard stuff, especially when you have to try and get two or three overs out of somewhere at the start of the campaign.

"I think since then, we are pretty lucky that Barinder (Sran) is such a good bowler and such a great replacement. Obviously, you miss his experience and you miss someone of such class as Ashish Nehra. But, at the same time, it has been a great opportunity for Sran. I think he has bowled very well," Henriques said.

After losing two games in a row, Sunrisers turned their fortunes around by posting comprehensive wins against Mumbai Indians (by 7 wickets), Gujarat Lions (by 10 wickets) and Kings XI Punjab (by 5 wickets).

The Hyderabad outfit is occupying the fourth spot in the eight-team standings with six points from five games.

Henriques, who made some useful contributions with both bat and the ball for SRH, was confident that the team can go to the top in the highly-competitive tournament.

"I think we felt that even before the turnaround started, at the start of the season. You have to have confidence that you can win the competition. Otherwise, (there is) no point in playing," he said.

"We knew that after two losses, we needed to turnaround and we needed to work hard to do that. We knew that momentum can change quickly. We saw a change after our first two losses. Now, we have won three in a row. So, we have to make sure we keep working hard."

He praised the superb batting by captain David Warner and other opener Shikhar Dhawan for the team's quick turnaround after losing its early matches.

"After a slow start in the first two games, we turned around well and the bowlers bowled really well in the last three games. We kept the teams under 150 every game. The opening batters have gone out and done well," Henriques said.

"Obviously, David (Warner) is in good form and Shikhar has come good in the last two games and scored some important runs as well," he said.

He said it is too early to say which teams are favourites to win the tournament.

"It is still very early in the tournament. It's an amazing tournament. You sort of feel like, there are just good players everywhere in all the teams. At this stage last year, Mumbai didn't win a game. So, then they came back and won the IPL which I think is fantastic for the competition.

"It is still so early. We still have nine games to play. Lot of teams have lot of games to play. There are world class players in every team. So, you just cannot rule teams out.

Every game you turn out to, you know that the other team has got players that can win games," Henriques said.

The 29-year-old from Australia said cricketers such as Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra will only make the team stronger when they make a comeback after recovering from injury.

"I feel we got a strong team. We still got players to come into the team to make it strong. Guys like Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Nehra. So, there is no concern. Guys like Trent Boult and Kane Williamson are sitting on the sidelines waiting for an opportunity. So, we got world class players, ready to take position if needed," he said.

Henriques said he is happy to bat at any order and bowl as per the team's requirements.

"I have batted in many different places in T20 cricket. Last year, I worked in number three for Sunrisers and batted well there and for New South Wales I batted four. Wherever might be in any different game, I got to be good enough to adjust and just adapt to where I am needed in a team. As an all-rounder, you are used to move up and down the order and bowling in different places as well," he said.

Henriques, who recovered from an injury, said: "At the moment, I am just happy playing cricket. I missed lot of cricket owing to injury. Where ever I can slot into the team and play I am very happy."