Last Updated on 6 years by Charbel Coorey
Top of the table clash, and what a battle it promises to be. What will the pitch be like? Do CSK prepare a slow pitch – the kind their bowlers are more suited to, or does that play right into SRH’s hands? Do they prepare a quicker pitch and put a much greater emphasis on executing their bowling plans much better than they did the other night?
There are some nice battles within the battle here, and it should be a great clash.
Chennai Super Kings tested the patience of their skipper and “Mr. Cool” MS Dhoni, who was clearly disappointed with the bowlers’ inability to follow instructions. “The bowlers were instructed what to bowl: back of a length. They could not execute. We were hit for a lot of boundaries of full balls. 176 was a par-plus score, the bowlers let us down.” It was a pretty scathing assessment of what went wrong, and now CSK have the chance to get things right against the already qualified SRH, with the likes of KXIP, KKR and MI still in with a chance of a top two finish.
Sunrisers Hyderabad are on a run of six straight wins, and the last one would have given their fans reason to smile from ear to ear. Rishabh Pant’s onslaught was out of the SRH curriculum for almost the entirety of IPL 2018, but to chase a 180+ score so easily (a score SRH hadn’t reached up until the last game) would have been so pleasing. Can they continue their momentum into the playoffs?
Key to a Chennai Super Kings win
CSK’s batting is arguably the best of any team in the tournament, but the biggest threat to them winning the title is their own bowling attack. A struggling RR needed 55 off the last 30 balls against them a few nights ago, and David Willey and Dwayne Bravo, two proven T20 players, didn’t execute as best they’d like. Ahead of the playoffs, they need to get things right.
Also, can one of their batsmen pull off something similar to what Rishabh Pant did? It’s a big ask, but even a 30-ball cameo at a SR of 200 (or close to) can allow the others to keep the momentum going. With CSK, it’s possible as they have batting talent right throughout their order.
How they deal with the superb SRH attack will be key.
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| MS Dhoni was not happy with his bowlers. Photo credit: BCCI |
Key a Sunrisers Hyderabad win
If the SRH bowlers can keep the CSK batting line up relatively quiet, it will go a long way to victory.
The encouraging aspect for SRH in the last match is that even though Pant took them apart with 128* off 63 balls, they still conceded less than 200, and chased it superbly. Restricting CSK to a score of below 180 would be match winning in my opinion, as SRH’s top order has what it takes to take down CSK’s bowlers.
SRH’s chances will stem from their intensity. Having already qualified for the playoffs, it’s easy to get into the mindset of relaxation, but momentum ahead of the playoffs is key.
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| Dhawan and Williamson put on an unbeaten 176 against DD |
Possible teams
There is a bit of talk that Sam Billings could be recalled to provide additional batting cover against the impressive SRH attack, as well as bringing back Faf du Plessis to open, pushing Ambati Rayudu to number four.
Chennai Super Kings XI: 1. Shane Watson, 2. Faf du Plessis, 3. Suresh Raina, 4. Ambati Rayudu, 5. MS Dhoni (c & wk), 6. Ravindra Jadeja, 7. Dwayne Bravo, 8. Harbhajan Singh, 9. Karn Sharma, 10. Shardul Thakur, 11. Lungi Ngidi
Wriddhiman Saha is said to not have recovered sufficiently from his shoulder injury, which means S Goswami will get another chance. SRH have spoken of their unwillingness to experiment ahead of the playoffs, which is the right call.
Sunrisers Hyderabad XI: 1. Shikhar Dhawan, 2. Alex Hales, 3. Kane Williamson (c), 4. Shakib Al Hasan, 5. Manish Pandey, 6. Yusuf Pathan, 7. Shreevats Goswami (wk), 8. Rashid Khan, 9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10. Siddharth Kaul, 11. Sandeep Sharma
Stats and Facts:
- Head-to-Head: Matches 7, CSK 5, SRH 2
- In the previous meeting between the two sides this season, SRH nearly pulled off a miracle chasing thanks to Kane Williamson, Yusuf Pathan and Rashid Khan.
- SRH’s winning streak of six is their longest ever in IPL.
- Kane Williamson against spin bowling in IPL 2018: 164 balls faced, 202 runs, one dismissal.
- Shane Watson needs 11 to reach 3,000 IPL runs.
- CSK have won both matches against SRH in Pune, but have lost three of their past five matches in IPL 2018.
Prediction
All eyes will be on CSK to see how they bounce back from a disappointing loss to RR. Their bowling can’t be trusted at the moment, which is why I will go with SRH to make it seven straight wins.
