The Sunrisers Hyderabad face the Chennai Super Kings in IPL‘s match 29 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Here’s the analysis.
The SWOT for SRH
Strengths: The batting has improved as the season has progressed. David Warner and Jonny Bairstow have found some form. Manish Pandey has played vital knocks. And Kane Williamson coming in has changed the complexion of the side.
Weaknesses: The bowling is weak without Bhuvneshwar Kumar. SRH were doing well against Rajasthan when they let the match slip away. The bowlers leaked runs and allowed RR to come back. They need to fix their bowling options.
Opportunities: Against a weak Chennai, SRH should aim to get back to winning ways.
Threats: They desperately need a few wins to keep play-offs hopes alive. Half of the tournament is finished and they need to improve their results.
The SWOT for CSK
Strengths: The bowling seems to be on the stronger side for CSK. Sam Curran, Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar have got a combined 21 wickets. Karn Sharma and Dwayne Bravo have done well here and there. Piyush Chawla was among the wickets earlier.
Weaknesses: The batting is directionless and has become their weakest link. All the batsmen look rusty and they’re unable to chase any of the targets set for them. The running between the wickets has been lethargic and the big shots are not working. A lack of intent, application and confidence is seen in the batting.
Opportunities: CSK have been one of the worst teams in the first half of the tournament. The only place to go is up. As some of the pitches get slower, it’s way past time to unleash Imran Tahir. CSK are almost out of the tournament. Only a remarkable turnaround can change things.
Threats: They might miss the play-offs for the first time in the team’s history. One more loss might be the end of the journey.
Head to head:
Matches played: 14
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 4
Chennai Super Kings: 10
Last five matches (most recent first):
Sunrisers Hyderabad: L-W-L-W-W
Chennai Super Kings: L-L-W-L-L
What happened in the reverse fixture?
Batting first, SRH made 164/5 in 20 overs, thanks to Priyam Garg’s unbeaten 51 from 26 balls. Ravindra Jadeja scored 50 and MS Dhoni was not out on 47 in the chase as CSK finished with 157/5 in 20 overs handing SRH a seven-run win.
Deccan Herald’s Dream XI
David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Priyam Garg, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Rashid Khan, T Natarajan, Shardul Thakur, Karn Sharma
Team news
No injuries reported for either team.
Ground conditions
The temperature will be around 38 degrees celsius. The humidity will be around 25%. The sky will be clear with winds throughout the evening.
Impact player for SRH
Rashid Khan: He’s back to his best and is currently his team’s leading wicket-taker with 10 scalps. He is providing breakthroughs at vital moments and controls the flow of runs in the middle overs.
Impact player for CSK
Faf du Plessis: CSK’s batting has failed in five out of seven matches but the one batsman who has waged a lone battle is Faf du Plessis. He has three fifties and has made a total of 307 runs. Du Plessis needs to continue his form and inspire the rest of the line-up.
How to watch
The match will be broadcast live on the Star Sports network. Viewers can also catch the action online on Disney+Hotstar. The match begins at 7.30 PM IST.
