IPL 2018: Match 20, SRH vs CSK, Preview - MS Dhoni and Co. aim to conquer Hyderabad

Hyderabad have historically struggled against the Men in Yellow.

Published - 21 Apr 2018, 18:00 IST | Updated - 21 Apr 2018, 18:00 IST

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The juggernaut of the Indian Premier League (IPL) rolls on as Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are all set to host the in-form Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Both the teams are coming off contrasting emotions in their respective previous matches. While the Men in Yellow thumped Royals, Gayle storm hit the Orange Army. It is time that the teams start taking every game seriously and they will be itching to get better of each other in this game. However, the prospect in itself makes this game a humdinger as the spectators will have to fasten their seatbelts.

SRH skipper Kane Williamson conjured problems in his line-up for the first time as they lack the much-needed firepower to gun down the big totals. It seems that they are overly dependent on their skilled bowlers to restrict the opposition to a middling score of around 150 to 160 which might not happen every time. They had an off day against the Kings XI and the batsmen were not up to the mark for the tall chase.

CSK, on the other hand, might just have found their perfect combination which could be seen playing more games as a group going ahead. But their players are getting injury prone with every match as Ambati Rayudu was the latest to cop a blow to his shin the other day. Though it doesn’t look serious, they should be careful and can’t afford any more casualties. The team is doing extremely well but they will have to play their best cricket against the Sunrisers to trump them in their home ground.

Toss: SRH won the toss and elected to field first

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, MS Dhoni(w/c), Sam Billings, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur

In: Faf du Plessis; Out: Imran Tahir

Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Wriddhiman Saha(w), Kane Williamson(c), Yusuf Pathan, Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Shakib Al Hasan, Ricky Bhui, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashid Khan, Billy Stanlake, Siddarth Kaul

In: Ricky Bhui, Billy Stanlake; Out: Shikhar Dhawan, Chris Jordan

Team Combinations

Sunrisers Hyderabad

The winning formula for SRH is to bowl well up front and restrict the opponents to a gettable total and then gun it down easily with the bat. They might stick to the same in this game as well with the likes of Rashid Khan, Siddarth Kaul and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in their ranks. The batting has to click in case they fail with the skipper and Manish Pandey under the scanner for their slow knock in the previous game. Though they will hope that Shikhar Dhawan and Saha provide them with a great start in the powerplay.

Billy Stanlake might come in to replace Chris Jordan as the reason for his exclusion in the last game is still not clear. The latter can keep his place only if the tall Australian is still injured.

Chennai Super Kings

Why change the winning combination when it has worked very well for you? MS Dhoni doesn’t believe in tinkering with the XI much and he will be upbeat about going in with the same team. Shane Watson is in the form of his life and even his partner Ambati Rayudu has also done well so far. Raina looked at his best in his previous outing and his form will be huge for the team going forward. The bowlers also endured their best day on the field against Royals and one more good game will only boost their confidence.

Focus will be on

Rashid Khan (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

Rashid Khan’s temperament will be tested now after the hammering he received at the hands of Chris Gayle in Mohali. He was hit for 6 maximums during his spell and it is important the youngster keeps his head still and continue the way he was bowling previously. His bowling performance will be important as it will decide the fate of the middle overs mostly which will set up the game for the death overs for the hosts.

Suresh Raina (Chennai Super Kings)

Keep an eye on this guy. Suresh Raina was batting like a beast last night and the four consecutive boundaries off Ben Stokes got him going. Few of his best shots were unfurled soon and it looked like he will score a big knock on the day. He might just have saved his best against the SRH and in case he starts striking the ball beautifully, it would be a tough day for the hosts’ bowlers. Raina too would be wanting to announce his arrival like Watson and it should not be surprising if he does it in this game.

Head to Head

Played- 6, Sunrisers Hyderabad – 2, Chennai Super Kings – 4

Stat Attack

400 – MS Dhoni is one of the two players to score 400 IPL runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Dhoni scored 404 runs in 11 innings against SRH at an average of 67.33 with five fifties.

300 – Shakib Al Hasan need one more wicket to complete 300 wickets in the T20 format