Just days after surviving a scare against Delhi Daredevils, Chennai Super Kings will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad, again at home, on Saturday. Chennai beat Delhi by one run in spite of putting up a mediocre score on the board. They will look for an improved batting performance with the bat. Sunrisers Hyderabad, who will be led by Shikhar Dhawan, have had a mixed run in the IPL. The newest franchise in the tournament, Sunrisers have some talented players in their team, but are yet to make a serious impression. They will have it tough against Chennai, but will be keen to make an impact.
As mentioned earlier, Chennai will look to put up an improved effort against Sunrisers. None of their batsmen really got going in the last match. Brendon McCullum will look for some runs under his belt. If he gets going, he can put Hyderabad under serious trouble. Then, there is also Suresh Raina, who is the biggest star of the tournament. He also failed in the first game, and would be itching to make an impact. Opener Dwayne Smith got a start in the previous match, but did not actually look in great nick. The same can be said of MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja. All of them would want to turn things around.
Chennai's bowling was highly impressive against JP Duminy's men, and they would be keen to continue the good work. Ashish Nehra's match-winning effort came like a bolt from the blue, and would please Chennai no end. They have a few other impressive performers in Mohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin, both of whom kept things tight the other day. And, although Ishwar Pandey did reasonably well on Thursday, there is every chance that Irfan Pathan will replace him if fit, for he brings all-round skills to the table. Speaking of all-rounders, Chennai also have Dwayne Bravo and Jadeja in their midst.
Sunrisers, on the other hand, also have some explosive options in the batting department. In skipper Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner, they have two dazzling openers, who can shred attacks to pieces on a given day. However, looking at their batting line-up, it seems like they can end up being heavily reliant on the opening duo, especially since Kevin Pietersen will not be available for the league rounds. Naman Ohja is among the local talent who has proved his worth before, but Eoin Morgan's form will worry the franchise. Also, Kane Williamson and Lokesh Rahul will have a challenge on hands to adapt to the T20 format.
It is in the bowling department that Hyderabad can perhaps match Chennai. Having faced disappointment in the World Cup, Dale Steyn would be keen to start afresh, leading the Hyderabad attack. Dhawan is also lucky to have Trent Boult among the ranks, one of stars of the World Cup. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar make up for good back up since all of them have tasted international success. In the spin department, they would look to Karn Sharma to deliver the goods. In spite of having a reasonably good side, Hyderabad would be the underdogs, and will have to play out of their skins, as Delhi realised the other day.
--By A Cricket Analyst
