IPL-2024: Chennai Super Kings will lock horns with Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai: SRH opt to bowl

In IPL, Chennai Super Kings will lock horns with Sunrisers Hyderabad at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The match is scheduled to begin at 7.30 PM. Sunrisers Hyderabad have won the toss and have opted to field.

How to stop SRH’s power-hitting is amongst the primary questions for bowling think-tanks this season given their tendency to set and outdo their own hitting record. That spin could be a way has been theorised particularly after their previous outing against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Additionally, the record of Travis Head who has been dismissed four times in six innings against spin adds some credence to that theory whilst they still pack some excellent spin-hitting options otherwise.

A key factor has been their successful opening combination with Abhishek Sharma being fluent against both types of bowling, alongside an explosive Head setting up games like no other opening combination in the season. Not only have they added the most runs by an opening pair (454 runs), they also score at the best rate of 12.78.

It is more than halfway in the season and about the time when traditionally the tiring pitches bring the spinners into the game more and more in an IPL. It’s an expectation that Chennai Super Kings too would have from themselves having traditionally built up a formidable home record on the back of their spin strengths.

At this stage however, they’ve run into a hurdle for those plans in the form of dew coming in. It played a big factor in their loss against Lucknow Super Giants on their home turf. In Chennai this season so far, pace has had a much bigger impact compared to spin and has continued an overall trend in Chennai in this season so far.

It is with these numbers stacked up against them that CSK take on an imposing SRH, who have suffered a blip in their previous outing. SRH would also find the opportunity ripe to correct their poor away record (3 losses in 5 games) with CSK themselves faltering for the first time at home recently. Should they be able to add another game to CSK’s losses column, it could throw up the table wide open as the tournament nears the business end.

Squads:

Sunrisers Hyderabad Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Nitish Reddy, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins(c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, T Natarajan, Travis Head, Umran Malik, Anmolpreet Singh, Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Upendra Yadav, Jhatavedh Subramanyan, Sanvir Singh, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Marco Jansen, Akash Maharaj Singh

Chennai Super Kings Squad: Ajinkya Rahane, Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Daryl Mitchell, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mustafizur Rahman, Matheesha Pathirana, Shardul Thakur, Sameer Rizvi, Shaik Rasheed, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Richard Gleeson, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Prashant Solanki, Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh, RS Hangargekar, Maheesh Theekshana, Nishant Sindhu, Aravelly Avanish