Here comes the clash of the table toppers! The flamboyant Sunrisers Hyderabad tours Pune to take on home side, Chennai Super Kings. Hyderabad would like to take the revenge while Super Kings aims for those crucial points to ensure a safer position. All in all, a cracker of the night is at store.
CSK – It’s time to roar again
Super Kings has started the things in a dominating way but off late, they were missing to bag those crucial moments of the game thus being on the wrong side of the things. However, they have got a good record at home and hopefully, they would like to continue.
The batting department has always been the asset for the team and they would once again rely on their in-form batsman. The likes of Ambati Rayudu, Watson, Dhoni and Raina are in a thunderous form while the ability of Bravo to whack it out is an icing on the cake. Besides them, Jadeja and Billings are in a decent nick as well.
Coming to the bowling department, it has been the major concern for the team as none of the fast bowlers are striking the right lengths when the pressure is on the shoulders. Even their best bowler, Dwayne Bravo is leaking runs at a great run-rate which is making things hard for the Dhoni-led side.
David Willey has been wayward in his last appearance and most probably, he will be out of the playing XI against SRH. MS Dhoni is trying to rotate the fast bowling department to find the balance in the team but during the course, they are failing to bag those crucial points. However, one can expect considerable changes in the playing XI.
Sunrisers Hyderabad – Eyes for the revenge
Last time, Chennai Super Kings clinched a thriller against Sunrisers at Hyderabad. Kane Williamson batted superbly to keep his side on the track but the stunning effort from Deepak Chahar has made things happen for CSK. However, SRH have come a long way since then and would love to give it back to 2nd placed CSK.
Sunrisers Hyderabad doesn’t have any concerns whatsoever but this game would be the perfect chance for them to try out the bench players as they were already qualified for the playoff stage and almost secured their position at top of the points table.
The likes of Carlos Braithwaite and the young lads are licking their lips to taste IPL 2018 edition. It is also a good time to hand the rest for the regular players like Kane Williamson, Dhawan, Shakib and Rashid Khan who are playing regularly. However, SRH management could also think opposite to it as they don’t want to stop the victory streak.
The only thing that would be bothering for the Hyderabad side is the form of Manish Pandey who is yet to join the party. Though he bagged decent tally in his backpack, it is his strike rate which needs an immediate attention as well.
However, a quality clash is set to make its way on a beautiful Sunday evening at Maharashtra Cricket Association, Pune. With short boundaries on offer, a run feast is on the cards.
Match Details:
Possible Playing XI
CSK – Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Sam Billings, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi
SRH – Alex Hales, Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson (c), Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Shreevats Goswami (wk), Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma
Pitch Report – Run scoring would be easy but need to tackle spin department efficiently.
Weather Report – No Rain is in the forecast. But a hot sun would take a toll on players.
Date & Time – 13th May 2018, 16:00 IST
Venue – Maharashtra Cricket Association, Pune
Live Telecast – Star Sports Network, Jio and Hotstar Premium customers.