Sunrisers Hyderabad brace for spin test in Chennai
Big picture: Can SRH score first win against CSK at home?
Sunrisers Hyderabad have not yet beaten Chennai Super Kings at home. They've played only three matches against CSK in Chennai, but visiting teams have always struggled for success at Chepauk, where Super Kings have won 19 of their last 23 games.
CSK have played only two home games so far but early signs are that Chepauk is staying true to reputation and assisting spin. Spinners have taken 16 wickets there this season with an economy of 8.13, while the fast bowlers have 11 wickets and an economy of 10.66.
Rajasthan Royals did return victorious from Chennai for the first time since 2008, but they fielded three world-class spinners in R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal and Adam Zampa. And yet they won by only three runs off the final ball.
Sunrisers don't have the same depth in their spin attack. They've been playing Washington Sundar, who's bowled 11 overs in five games without a wicket, and Mayank Markande, while keeping Adil Rashid and Akeal Hosein on the bench because of team balance. Will captain Aiden Markram look to bring in an international spinner because of the conditions at Chepauk?
Spin will also test Harry Brook, who has been opening for Sunrisers in recent games and scored a hundred too. But MS Dhoni would have definitely noted Brook was successful against pace and circumspect against spin during his century against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Sunrisers haven't been the fastest starters with the bat this season either: their powerplay run-rate of 7.13 is the lowest among all teams, while Super Kings' 9.86 is the highest. They might have to approach this contest differently and attack CSK's quicks early on, so that they don't leave themselves too much to do against the spinners in Chennai.
Recent results
Chennai Super Kings WLWWL (last five matches, most recent first)
Sunrisers Hyderabad LWWLL
Team news: Stokes still doubtful but Santner's fit
Ben Stokes is likely to miss a fourth successive game as he recovers from a heel injury, though he did bat and bowl in the nets for a short while on Wednesday. Mitchell Santner has recovered from illness and is available for selection.
Impact Player strategy
Chennai Super Kings
Super Kings have been using Ambati Rayudu only during their batting innings, swapping him in or out for a bowler depending on whether they bowl first or second.
Probable XII: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Shivam Dube, 5 Ambati Rayudu, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 9 Tushar Deshpande, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Matheesha Pathirana/Mitchell Santner, 12 Akash Singh
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers' use of the Impact Player doesn't have a consistent pattern, though it's usually been a batter for a bowler or vice versa. Against Knight Riders, they subbed out Harry Brook after he scored a hundred and brought in Washington Sundar, and in their next game against Mumbai they subbed out T Natarajan after they finished bowling and brought in Abdul Samad for the chase.
Probable XII: 1 Harry Brook, 2 Mayank Agarwal, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Aiden Markram (capt), 5 Abhishek Sharma, 6 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Marco Jansen/Akeal Hosein/Adil Rashid, 11 Mayank Markande, 12 T Natarajan/Vivrant Sharma
Stats that matter
- CSK are the only IPL opponents against whom Mayank Agarwal has not scored a half-century in more than 10 innings.
- In the last two IPL seasons, only Nitish Rana and Sanju Samson have more runs than Ruturaj Gaikwad's 235 against Sunrisers.
- Tushar Deshpande has picked up five wickets in the last five overs this season, the second most by a fast bowler. However, his economy of 12.81 in this phase is the highest among bowlers to have bowled at least 30 balls.
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar has dismissed Ajinkya Rahane six times in 103 deliveries in the IPL, and only conceded 90 runs
Pitch and conditions
The two games in Chennai so far have had good batting tracks with enough in them for spinners. The fast bowlers been expensive and the trend could continue. The weather is expected to be warm and humid.