Match details
Chennai Super Kings (Fifth – L8, W4, L4) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (Third – L8, W5, L3) Chennai, 19:30 (14:00 GMT)
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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?•Associated Press
In the spotlight
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