MATCH PREVIEW
Follow UsSunrisers Hyderabad are aggressive-batting personified in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL). From Abhishek Sharma to Travis Head to Nitish Kumar Reddy, there have been all sorts of batting caricatures that look devastatingly impactful.
Similarly, on the bowling front, the likes of Pat Cummins, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and T Natarajan – despite being at the receiving end of some otherworldly batting – have managed to stay clear of the chasing pack.
Facing them on April 28 (Sunday) is Chennai Super Kings, who have historically dominated Hyderabad in the last decade, but they have a lot of catch-up to do. After losing to Lucknow Super Giants in consecutive encounters, head coach Stephen Fleming admitted that his side needed to figure out their best combination. It was an honest admission from the defending champions, who are dependent on so many individual bursts of brilliance.
The match is at the Chepauk - a venue that has hardly ever betrayed the five-time champions. Notwithstanding the result of the LSG clash, the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led franchise is still well-placed to wrest the momentum in their favor. But can SRH snap back?
CSK vs SRH head-to-head
Overall | Games 20 | CSK 14 | SRH 6
At Chepauk | Games 4 | CSK 4 | SRH 0
Venue Details
The MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai has forever been a fortress for the Super Kings, where they have scripted so many memorable tales. As a matter of fact, they have won three of their four games played at the venue this season.
The average first-innings score at Chepauk this season is 182/6, while the average first-innings winning score is 206/6. Pacers have taken 78% of the wickets here at Chepauk this season, while the spinners have gone for fewer runs.
CSK have the best win percentage at home in IPL than any other side, with 70.5%, while in contrast, SRH have the lowest win percentage at Chepauk, where they have 11.1%. They have never beaten CSK in Chennai.
Weather Forecast
Humidity has always been the biggest factor in Chennai and on April 28, 2024 (Sunday), the humidity factor is closing in at 50%. The temperature is going to hover around 38 to 40 degrees Celsius, which means dew could play an important role. There is no chance of precipitation too, with Accuweather suggesting it to be less than 6%, but mostly a clear sky in the evening.
Things to watch out for
Gaikwad needs to continue the good work
Ruturaj Gaikwad has been one of the most consistent performers for Chennai Super Kings in the last three seasons, but this season, he has blown hot and cold. It has been further compounded by the fact that CSK’s opening wicket has fallen four times before they scored 10 runs, and only once did they have crossed the 50-run mark for the opening wicket partnership. That definitely doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence.
Gaikwad, who is coming off a century against Lucknow Super Giants at Chepauk, has been excellent, particularly against pace, where he strikes over 150. SRH are a pace-heavy bowling side and Gaikwad might take them down. Overall, a lot will depend on how he fares and guides the team.
Overdependence on openers?
Against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Sunrisers Hyderabad lost the plot in the powerplay itself - a blow so heavy that they couldn’t really recover from. You could judge the impact of Sunrisers' opening unit from the fact that they have the highest average among all opening pairs with an average of 56.8 runs, which included one 50+ and two 100+ stands.
They have complimented their game really well. Whereas Travis Head has a strike rate of 236 against pace, Abhishek Sharma has done the damage against spin, having a strike rate of 243 this season. In the first 10 balls, no player has a better strike rate than Abhishek Sharma and he has also hit the most sixes with 19 when the second best is only 10 in the first 10 balls. That tells you why Chennai will not rest easy.
But if the RCB game had anything to go by, there might be a considerable amount of challenge that may come their way if the duo fail to deliver.
Probable XIs
SRH: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Rahul Tripathi, Heinrich Klaasen, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, T Natarajan (IP)
CSK: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Daryll Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Mustafizur Rahman, Matheesa Pathirana, Sameer Rizvi (IP)
Telecast and Streaming Details
The match will be live on Star Sports Network and live-streamed on Jio Cinema. The game will start at 7:30 PM, with the toss happening at 7 PM.
