IPL 6: Match 54 - SRH vs CSK - Chennai Super Kings Preview

Despite their huge defeat in the last game against MI, Chennai Super Kings have been ruthless this season, conquering their opponents match after match, both home and away. But now, they have the resurgent Sunrisers Hyderabad standing firm in their way, as both the teams are ready to face-off at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad today evening. With CSK almost confirmed for the play-offs, SRH will look to continue their dream run at home to move into the top 4 today. CSK are the current table-toppers with 9 wins so far, and SRH are holding on to the 5th spot on the points table.

CSK are coming into this match from bit of a wake-up call, as they were bundled out for a mere 79 against MI in their last match, which they lost by 60 runs. However, barring the last game, their batting has been clicking right from the word go. Michael Hussey has never looked better at the top of the order before. He, along with Wriddhiman Saha, will be expected to provide CSK with the prolific start that they have come to expect. The experiment of playing Murali Vijay in the last game didn’t work. Suresh Raina is the highest run-scorer combining all the IPL seasons, and there’s absolutely no doubt about his worth in the team. Badrinath has been chipping in with some important 30s as well. MS Dhoni is probably the best finisher in world cricket as of now, and is capable of turning the game around at any point. Ravindra Jadeja is also very capable of an explosive innings lower down the order. The batting looks good, but they need to perform well against arguably the best bowling line-up in the IPL, comprising the likes of Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma and Amit Mishra.

CSK are the table toppers, which indicates how well their bowlers have bowled this season. Mohit Sharma has been a sensation for them so far and Dhoni’s ploy of bowling him out inside the first 10 overs has worked well so far. Ashwin, with his clever varieties, will lead the spin department along with Ravindra Jadeja. Chris Morris is another bowler whom Dhoni has trusted, and the pacer has done very well in responding to the faith placed in him. Current Purple Cap holder Dwayne Bravo is Dhoni’s trump card in the death overs, and has been delivering more often than not. They need to put up a good show today by dealing with the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Ashish Reddy, Kumara Sangakkara and Darren Sammy. SRH are coming from a resounding win over DD in their last game and will hope the momentum stays with them.

Conditions:

As evident from the previous few games, the pitch is likely to play slow and low today as well. Batsmen might find it hard to time the ball well, but you never know what CSK might come up with today.

Head to head:

The win-loss ratio is very much skewed in the favour of CSK, who won 7 out the 11 games they played against SRH combining all the seasons. SRH (previously DC) managed to win only 4.

Key players:

Michael Hussey: Mr Cricket has been at his best so far, providing his side with some flourishing starts. He is the the second-highest scorer in this IPL, just after Chris Gayle, and will be expected to deliver at the top again today.

MS Dhoni: One of the coolest minds in modern cricket, Dhoni has been rather ruthless in his approach of leading his team this year. His heroics with the bat in the death overs are very well known, and he will be on top of the SRH bowlers’ hit-list considering what he did to Dale Steyn the last time they met.

CSK’s strategy:

Even though the pitch doesn’t change much in the second innings, they should look to bowl first if the coin falls on their side, considering the number of matches that have been won here while chasing. SRH have been on the winning side while chasing most of the times, and CSK should probably look to make them do something different.

Possible XI:

The team has been doing very well overall, and are expected to retain the core of the team for today’s match as well. However, the slow and low conditions at the venue might prompt them to go for one or two changes.

Michael Hussey, Wriddhiman Saha/Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(c/wk), S Badrinath, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Chris Morris, Dwayne Bravo, B Laughlin/Albie Morkel and Mohit Sharma.