Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will hope for a winning return as they square off in Match 29 of the Dream11 Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
SRH have thus far won three matches out of seven while CSK have two wins against their name from seven games.
The last time these two teams faced each other, SRH came out on top, beating CSK by 7 runs in Match 14 of the IPL 2020. While David Warner and Co. will look to repeat that performance, CSK will be keen to return the favour in their second outing against SRH this season.
Sunrisers Hyderabad are coming off a heart-wrenching loss in a match they were ahead in for most of the time. Despite having a fragile middle-order, Sunrisers Hyderabad now seem to be adopting an approach that has worked so well for them in the recent editions. Their opening pair of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow has clicked more often than not and that is helping them put runs on the board. The over-dependency on them, which was apparent at the start, now seems to be gradually fading away largely because of Kane Williamson, who has already played several useful innings.
Apart from Williamson, Bairstow, and Warner, the Sunrisers only have Manish Pandey, who has good experience behind him. However, the Sunrisers would draw confidence from the way Priyam Garg and Abhishek Sharma have done in the past few matches. The return of Vijay Shankar is certainly a welcome move.
While bowling has always been the Sunrisers' strongest suit, it doesn't look like that any longer. With Bhuvneshawar Kumar out injured, the Sunrisers appear to be lacking the skill and experience required at the death. This could come to a bite them in the upcoming match, wherein scoring runs would be easier than usual. Barring Rashid Khan, none of their bowlers have been consistent. T Natarajan has the capability of bowling yorkers accurately, but he would have to be dead accurate in the upcoming match. Khaleel and Sharma, however, have had sorry stats in the slog overs and would be the weakest links in the chain for SRH in the upcoming match.
Just around a week ago, Chennai Super Kings announced themselves with a remarkable ten-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab and changed the negative narrative about them. Their fans would have hoped that CSK would build on that win, but that was not to be.
Spinners have always been CSK's strength and ironically, they are yet to win a match purely based on their strength. Ravindra Jadeja seems to be finding his rhythm back after having a dismal run in the first few matches. Given that Karn Sharma has done well too, a spin strangle from the Super Kings might well be around the corner.
Despite their spin woes, CSK's bowling has done reasonably well in the tournament. In fact, their biggest issue to address is their intent with the bat while chasing totals and that was also reiterated by MS Dhoni. Against Royal Challengers Bangalore as well, Chennai Super Kings' top-order left too many runs with not many overs remaining for the middle-order. The absence of Suresh Raina is clearly being felt and we are likely to see a more aggressive approach from the Super Kings going forward.
On paper, Chennai Super Kings still appear to be an immaculately balanced team. They are rich in experience and bat deep with almost everyone capable enough to hit the ball out of the park. They have enough fire-power in the bowling department and that was apparent in their performance against RCB. Faf du Plessis has consistently scored well for them and is currently at the third spot among the top run-scorers in the tournament thus far.
They have had things clicking for them, but not in tandem. Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, and Ambati Rayudu all have some runs under their belt, and its only a matter of time before they get back into the business.
Weather Forecast
The weather in Dubai today has a maximum of 36 degrees and a minimum of 26 degrees. However, with a low humidity of 31 percent, dew might not play much of a factor.
Pitch Report
The pitch is sluggish and is often two paced at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The pacers have enjoyed extra bounce and swing early on with the spinners ruling the roost in the middle overs. But over the last few matches, the surfaces seem to have dried and spinners have enjoyed bowling here. Over the last few matches, the surfaces seem to have dried and spinners have enjoyed bowling here.
Toss Prediction
The surface is expected to get slower with every passing over and chasing will not be easy. Keeping that into consideration, the captain winning the toss would like to bat first. The team batting first would want to score at least around 175 runs
Stats and Facts
Head to head: Matches Played: 14
Chennai Super Kings: 10
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 4
Approaching Milestones:
Warner needs 19 runs to get to the 5000-run landmark in the IPL.
Kane Williamson is 3 sixes from completing 50 IPL sixes for SRH.
MS Dhoni needs one dismissal to complete 150 IPL dismissals.
Faf du Plessis requires 54 runs to complete 2000 IPL runs for CSK.
Sandeep Sharma is three short of 100 IPL wickets.
Likely XIs:
Chennai Super Kings: Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, N Jagadeesan, MS Dhoni (capt), Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Karn Sharma
Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (capt), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson, Priyam Garg, Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed/Basil Thampi, T Natarajan
Players to Watch Out For:
Chennai Super Kings: Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, Sam Curran
Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Priyam Garg, Rashid Khan
Match Odds:
Chennai Super Kings: 1.8
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 2.00
SantaBanta's Winner Prediction: Chennai Super Kings
IPL 2020 Winner Live Odds
Mumbai Indians - 3
Royal Challengers Bangalore - 4
Delhi Capitals - 4.5br>
Kolkata Knight Riders - 8
Chennai Super Kings - 15
Sunrisers Hyderabad - 15
Rajasthan Royals - 17
Kings XI Punjab - 41
Match Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Time: 7.30 PM IST
TV: Star Sports Network
Live Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar VIP
