Defending champions Chennai Super Kings welcome Sunrisers Hyderabad to The Den on Sunday as the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League moves into a crucial phase with teams slugging it out in pursuit of a playoff spot.
CSK, who have managed to win half of their eight outings so far stand fifth up against third-placed SRH, who have amassed 10 points in 8 fixtures.
The ongoing edition of the T20 extravaganza has witnessed some unprecedented run-scoring with SRH at the forefront of it notching up some humongous totals. The dangerous batting order of the team from Hyderabad has redefined the craft with their batters firing on all fronts.
SRH openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma have altered the landscape of T20 cricket with their ultra-aggressive approach in the powerplay which has set their team up for some mammoth scores in the tournament.
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They also boast the likes of Heinrich Klassen, who has been at the top of his game in the past 12 months and the promising Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shabhaz Ahmed, who have chipped in with runs when required. South African T20 skipper Aiden Markram also adorns the star-studded lineup making them a force to be reckoned with.
Hyderabad opened their season with a loss to Kolkata Knight Riders but came into their own with massive wins over Mumbai Indians in a game that shattered the record books. They went down to Gujarat Titans before notching up wins against CSK, Punjab Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals.
However, the Orange Army comes to Chennai on the back of a defeat to RCB at home, in the second of two fixtures between the sides, with an eye on a return to winning ways.
Their bowling unit looks solid with skipper Pat Cummins and Indian pacer T Natarajan threatening the opposition batters with their sharp seam bowling with Ahmed and Mayank Markande always ready to puzzle batsmen with their tricky spin.
Chennai, under the new leadership of skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, opened the defence of their fifth title with a couple of wins at home against RCB and GT before slumping to back-on-back losses on the road against DC and SRH.
The Yellow Army picked up their third home win of the season with a triumph over KKR and registered their first win on the road this year with a victory over rivals MI.
However, Gaikwad and Co. went down twice to Lucknow Super Giants on the trot, first at the Ekana Sports City in UP and then again at The Den to concede their first defeat in front of the partisan home crowd. Skipper Gaikwad’s unbeaten ton went in vain as Marcus Stoinis produced a century to take LSG over the finish line.
Chennai, who have traditionally been a spin powerhouse, haven’t been able to get the best of their turners due to multiple factors, such as dew and the nature of the pitch, which have hampered the showing of the bowling unit.
The hosts will rack up to the vociferous stadium in Chepauk looking to snip their run of losses with a strong showing against SRH in a game that could go prove hectic for the statisticians and could go down to the wire.
What: CSK vs SRH, Match No. 46, IPL 2024
When: April 27, 2024, 7:30 PM IST
Where: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai
CSK Squad:
Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), MS Dhoni, Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Matheesha Pathirana, Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Mustafizur Rahman, Tushar Deshpande, Devon Conway, Shaik Rasheed, Mitchell Santner, Simarjeet Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Prashant Solanki, Sameer Rizvi, Avanish Rao Aravelly, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ajay Mandal, Mukesh Choudhary.
SRH Squad:
Pat Cummins (C), Aiden Markram, Travis Head, Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen, Shahbaz Ahmed, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T. Natarajan, Marco Jansen, Rahul Tripathi, Washington Sundar, Mayank Agarwal, Glenn Phillips, Sanvir Singh, Anmolpreet Singh, Mayank Markande, Upendra Singh Yadav, Umran Malik, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Wanindu Hasaranga, Pat Cummins, Jaydev Unadkat, Akash Singh, Jhathavedh Subramanyan.
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