Bruised CSK look to regroup against Sunrisers’ big hitters

By
cricadmin
-
0
13
Alastair Cook announces retirement from professional cricket


Match details

Chennai Super Kings (Fifth – L8, W4, L4) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (Third – L8, W5, L3) Chennai, 19:30 (14:00 GMT)

large painting

Chennai Super Kings began a run of three straight home games with a loss against Lucknow Super Giants, and after losing the reverse match in Lucknow just before that, they suddenly see a chance of falling down the table. Next up are Sunrisers Hyderabad, who were flying high until failing in a 207-run chase against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their last game.

If CSK want to regain their form at home, historically there is no better team than SRH to face. They have beaten SRH 14 times out of their 20 meetings and have a 100% winning record against them in Chepauk.

But this season the history books have been thrown out, especially when it comes to the SSR. Records have fallen this season when it comes to run scoring, and SRH has been at the forefront. So facing them after seeing their total of 210 being chased in the last game could be a daunting proposition.

RCB showed a way to counter SRH’s lethal opening duo. They first bowled spin and managed to smother Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma to get them both out of the powerplay. So will CSK consider introducing Moeen Ali in the attack early? Or will they hope that Deepak Chahar can dismiss Abhishek for the third time in as many innings?

Regardless of how they plan it, CSK will know that they need to emerge victorious in the power play with the ball.

forms guide

Chennai Super Kings LLWWL (last five matches, most recent first) Sunrisers Hyderabad LWWWW

Previous meeting

The two teams faced each other in Hyderabad on April 5, when it was still not clear that this IPL would turn into a six-hit frenzy. Dube made 45 for 24 but SRH restricted CSK to 165 for 5. Abhishek set up the chase with a 12-ball 37 before Aiden Markram anchored SRH to victory with a 36-ball 50.

Impact Player team news and strategy

Chennai Super Kings

CSK are unlikely to stray away from the team they fielded in their last match, with Shardul Thakur and Ajinkya Rahane the respective impact players depending on whether they are batting or bowling first.

Probable XII: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), 2 Ajinkya Rahane, 3 Daryl Mitchell, 4 Ravindra Jadeja, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 MS Dhoni (week), 8 Deepak Chahar, 9 Tushar Deshpande, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Matheesha Pathirana, 12 years old, Shardul Thakur

Sunrise Hyderabad

Despite the setback, SRH has no reason to tinker with its team. Jaydev Unadkat came into the team in the last game and, after finishing with a triple, will likely retain his place.

1 Travis Head, 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Aiden Markram, 4 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 5 Abdul Samad, 6 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 7 Shahbaz Ahmed, 8 Pat Cummins (captain), 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 Mayank Markande , 11 T Natarajan

Will Travis Head And Abhishek Sharma Play Again?

Will Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma play again?•Associated Press

In the spotlight

After setting the scene on fire in a new sixty-year-old avatar last season, Ajinkya Rahane has not found the same rhythm in IPL 2024. His strike rate has been 127.78 and he has an average of 23. For reference, He scored 172.49 last season. . He made a 30-ball 35 the last time these two teams met and CSK will hope they can do better on Sunday. Despite lackluster performances, CSK have persisted with him, even pushing him up in the last three matches, but have yet to get the best out of him.

With Head, Abhishek and Heinrich Klaasen stealing the show, Aiden Markram has been a relatively quiet figure for SRH this season. He proved his worth by scoring fifty important points in a low-scoring chase when these two teams last met, which could be his big role in the team. The big knocks have been left to others, he just needs to ensure they don’t slip with the loss of early wickets. But with Glenn Phillips warming the bench, SRH would like Markram to start putting up better numbers.

Field and conditions

Chepauk has seen 200 crosses three times in four games this season, two of those times coming in the last game there. Other than that, it hasn’t been the smoothest platform and could be a challenge for SRH’s approach. However, if the pitch is anything like the last game, hitters will be licking their lips.

Statistics that matter

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has dismissed Ajinkya Rahane six times in 17 innings in all T20s. Rahane strikes at 88.88 against the fast bowler.

Jaydev Unadkat is two strikes away from becoming the 25th player to take 100 IPL wickets.

MS Dhoni is three away from becoming the first player to take 150 catches in the IPL.

Abhimanyu Bose is Deputy Editor of ESPNcricinfo