IPL 9: Bowling is our strength, says Sunrisers Hyderabad's Moises Henriques

Hyderabad: 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.