Image Credit- BCCI
With a loss to Lucknow Super Giants to begin a run of three straight home games, Chennai Super Kings are suddenly facing the possibility of falling farther down the table after losing the rematch in Lucknow shortly before that. They will next play Sunrisers Hyderabad, who were on a high until they faltered in their previous game when trying to chase down 207 runs against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Historically, SRH is the best team for CSK to play against if they wish to get back on track at home. They have a 100% victory record in Chepauk versus SRH and have defeated them 14 times in 20 meetings.
However, this season, history books have been abandoned, particularly in the case of SRH. This season, hitting records have fallen, with SRH leading the way. It could therefore be a scary prospect for CSK to take on them after witnessing their total of 210 being reduced in the last match.
A countermove to SRH’s lethal opening pair was demonstrated by RCB. They were able to stymie Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma with their first-up spin bowls, getting both of them out in the powerplay. Will CSK consider bringing Moeen Ali into the assault at an early stage? Or will they bet on Deepak Chahar to get rid of Abhishek for a third wicket in a row?
CSK is aware that, no matter how they set up their strategy, they must win the ball powerplay.
On April 5, the two teams faced off in Hyderabad, before it was obvious that this IPL would turn into a six-hitting extravaganza. Dube scored 45 runs off of 24, but SRH held CSK to 165 runs for five. Before Aiden Markram led SRH to victory with a 36-ball 50, Abhishek laid the groundwork for the chase with a 12-ball 37.
Aiden Markram has been a somewhat quiet character for SRH this season, with Head, Abhishek, and Heinrich Klaasen taking up most of the attention. When these two teams last played, he proved his worth by scoring a crucial fifty in a low-scoring chase, which may be his major contribution to the team. He merely needs to make sure they don’t falter when early wickets are lost or when playing on more difficult surfaces. The heavy hitting has been left to the others. Though Glenn Phillips is warming the bench, SRH may prefer that Markram start putting up stronger stats.