The three time champions Chennai Super Kings will take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad, in what will mark the 14th match of the Indian Premier League 2020. Both the teams stand on bottom of the table with one win from three games played. Though they have contrasting backgrounds coming into this match. CSK after winning the opening game against their arch rivals MI seem to have lost the plot completely as they were completely clueless against Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals.
Sunrisers Hyderabad on the other hand were struggling to settle their team in the first two matches as they were missing their key players Kane Williamson and Mitchell Marsh. Though, Mitchell Marsh has been ruled out of the tournament. The return of Kane Williamson in their third match did provide the much needed stability for the SRH side as they ended defeating the table toppers Delhi Capitals.
Chennai Super Kings would be excited to welcome back their star batsman Ambati Rayudu and West Indian all-rounder Dwyane Bravo back to the side. The inclusion would definitely boost the CSK side who are at the bottom of the table and will be looking to start their upwards march with a win over the SRH side.
Will the return of Rayudu and Bravo change the fortunes of CSK? Or will SRH make it back to back wins?
Head to Head
Matches Played- 13, CSK- 10, SRH- 3, N/R- 0
Team News
CSK would be more than happy to welcome their salient players Ambati Rayudu and Dwayne Bravo, who are now deemed fully fit to play. The inclusion is likely to come at the cost of Josh Hazelwood and Murali Vijay.
SRH seem to have finally found their best Xl as they seemed to be struggling to do in the first two matches. With Kane Williamson now in the middle-order the SRH side would be feeling more confident and the openers could play their shots more freely.
Pitch and Conditions
The pitch in Dubai is on the slower side and has not been the best for the batsman especially the big hitters. It is likely to continue the same way and given that both the sides have some world class spinners in their side the match promises to be a thriller.
The weather is reported to be clear with the temperatures likely to be floating around the 31 degree mark, which would be a huge relief to the players as the usual temperature recorded is around the 36 degree range. Humidity though is again on the higher side in Dubai, with the highest humidity expected to reach 63%.
Probable Playing Xl
Chennai Super Kings(CSK): Ruturaj Gaikwad/Murali Vijay, Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(c & wk), Kedar Jadhav, Dwayne Bravo, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Piyush Chawla
Sunrisers Hyderabad(SRH): David Warner (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson, Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, T Natarajan
Key Battles
Faf du Plessis (CSK) vs Rashid Khan (SRH)
Faf du Plessis has been the silver lining for the Men in Yellow in this season. He is currently the third highest run-getter in the tournament with 173 runs to his name. The South African almost bailed out Chennai Super Kings in the match against Rajasthan Royals. The 36- year old would be raring to go against SRH.
Though it would not be that easy for the CSK star as SRH have one of the best bowlers in the tournament in the form of Rashid Khan. Though, the Afghani has not picked a bunch of wickets in this season yet, his economy of 6 is sure to put any batsman under pressure. The 22-year old proved his domination once again against the table toppers DC by picking up three crucial wickets.
Can the youngster stop the flamboyant South African? Or will the former proteas captain dominate the SRH bowling?
Jonny Bairstow(SRH) vs Deepak Chahar(CSK)
The English opener Jonny Bairstow has scored 119 runs from the three games he has played this season. Said that, the Right-hander has not been able to get the flow which he has been looking for. His strike-rate this season of 116 has been on the lower side as his overall strike-rate in the IPL floats around the 150 mark. Though the opener has not been able to get the momentum, he has been scoring runs, which shows his sheer domination.
CSK would be looking to remove the right-hander as early as possible as he is someone even when not in his best can demolish the opposition team. The youngster Deepak Chahar would be hoping to get the big fish with his exceptional swing bowling as Bairstow is someone who loves to drive the ball.
Can Chahar get the big fish and make things easier for the Old Daddies? Or will once again the English Opener play a crucial knock for SRH?
Prediction
Chennai Super Kings have been struggling without the services of their key players. It was Ambati Rayudu who took the team over the line in the opener and the return of the 35-year old means CSK will have a stronger middle-order. Dwyane Bravo definitely would add strength to the team both in terms of bat and ball.
Though the pressure of being at the bottom of the table may dent the confidence of the franchise, the fact they have won the title three times makes us believe they could handle the situation much better than the others.
SRH on the other hand seem to have found their best Xl and look a well balanced side now. The return of Kane Williamson has definitely done the trick for them and they will look to continue to their win run. The match could well get to the wire once again. The one concern for the SRH side would be the win ratio they have against CSK as they only managed to win three matches out of the 13 matches played between the sides.
The three champions would not want to stay at the bottom of the table and the return of Rayudu and Bravo will definitely change the dynamics of the team.
Cricwizz predicts Chennai Super Kings to win.
