Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings will eye a winning return when they clash against each other in the 18th match of the Indian Premier League 2024 on Friday. The five-time champions Chennai Super Kings suffered a surprise loss against Delhi Capitals in their last match on Sunday, their first defeat of the season.
A second consecutive defeat for Chennai Super Kings would be a serious blow to their hopes of a successful title defence. Sunrisers Hyderabad suffered a heavy seven-wicket defeat while defending 163 against Gujarat Titans in their last game. Pat Cummins -led Hyderabad have won one of their opening three games in IPL 2024 and are currently placed in the sixth position in the points table.
SRH vs CSK previous match results.
Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Chennai Super Kings also witnessed a shock 20-run loss against Delhi Capitals in their first game. However, Chennai are placed in the third spot in the points table with two wins in three games in IPL 2024. CSK have recorded four wins in their last five meetings against SRH and will enter the upcoming clash as favorites.
CSK will need to regather quickly as they face a dangerous and unpredictable hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad in Match 18 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium today, Friday. Chennai’s new captain Ruturaj Gaikwad though had dismissed the loss to DC as an “expected odd dip in a long tournament”.
Hosts SRH, too, are coming from a seven-wicket loss against the Gujarat Titans after two breathtaking performances had yielded a loss and a defeat each. The Hyderabad-based combine won the hearts of their fans with a fighting display despite a four-run defeat in the opener against Kolkata Knight Riders but the loss in Ahmedabad on Sunday last exposed many flaws
Run feast in last match at Hyderabad
The 2016 champions raised their bar to a whole new level against five-time champions Mumbai Indians to post 277/3 – the highest innings total in the history of the IPL. In that run feast the match also witnessed records for IPL’s highest second innings score of 246/5 and the most runs in a game – 523.
But SRH’s flaws were exposed by the Titans in their third match of the campaign. It was an overall failure for the Heinrich Klaasen-led team when neither batting, nor bowling had worked.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: SRH vs CSK
Chennai enjoy an incredible head-to-head record against Hyderabad, having beaten the 2019 champions 14 times out of 19 meetings. Chennai have won 5 of their last 7 meetings. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have played a total of 20 matches so far in Indian Premier League (IPL). Off these 20 SRH-CSK IPL matches, Sunrisers Hyderabad have won five times, while Chennai Super Kings have defeated SRH in 15 matches.
When playing at their home ground, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, out of 52 matches played at this venue, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have emerged victorious 31 times, suffered defeat on 20 occasions, and one match ended in a tie.
CSK likely to miss Mustafizur Rahman
CSK in all probability will be without the services of Mustafizur Rahman, who is holding the Purple Cap of tournament’s most successful bowler. He has flown back to Bangladesh to complete his visa formalities for the T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies.
Mustafizur is expected to join the team in Hyderabad later in the afternoon. But CSK might not field him in the match shortly after his arrival. His absence would weaken the CSK bowling attack against the rampant batting order of the Sunrisers. It will be hard for the Yellow Army to find an able replacement for the ace paceman, the leading wicket-taker with seven wickets from three matches. Mustafizur’s experience and variations are a massive weapon for the Super Kings with the new ball.
Pitch and conditions
A fresh pitch will be used for Friday’s fixture. It’s a black-soil pitch that Daniel Vettori, the Sunrisers head coach, believes will behave far differently to the red-soil pitch on which Sunrisers and Mumbai Indians played out a record run-fest. Michael Hussey, CSK’s batting coach, believes it looks “slightly dry” but expects it to be full of runs nonetheless.
CSK eye swift revival
Delhi bowlers exposed the flaws in CSK’s batting with the opening pair of Rachin Ravindra and Ruturaj Gaikwad failing to make a significant impact. It was a collective failure for their batting, when only Ajinkya Rahane could make a significant 45 runs before MS Dhoni gave a glimpse of his exceptional abilities.
Following Dhoni’s 16-ball 37* at No.8 in his first display with the bat this season, it will be in the better interest of the team to have him bat above the order. That will be an interesting move, considering Shivam Dube and Sameer Rizvi at No. 5 and 6 respectively are two big hitters of the ball. Chunks in SRH armor
SRH would like to draw a leaf out of the emphatic win in their last outing at Uppal. However, they too have their share of concerns. Opener Mayank Agarwal has managed just 59 runs from three matches so far. In bowling, skipper Pat Cummins, who has four wickets for 95 runs from three matches at an impressive economy of 7.91, has failed to get the desired support.
Jaydev Unadkat (economy 11.16), Mayank Markande (economy 11.42) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, wicketless in three games, have been expensive, inconsistent and ineffective. Considering that over 500 runs were scored in the last match in Hyderabad, SRH will be under pressure to get their bowling act together, even if they will be hosting the Super Kings on a different wicket.
The euphoria of watching their Thala bat may have taken the sting out of their defeat to Delhi Capitals in Vizag three nights ago, but Chennai Super Kings will be the first to admit morale wins only count for so much. In Hyderabad, they will be up against one of the most explosive batting sides in the competition, in conditions where 277 didn’t seem safe enough, just over a week ago.
They’ll potentially be without one of their gun bowlers, Mustafizur Rahman, who knows a thing or two about bowling on these tracks. In 2016, Mustafizur starred in Sunrisers’ march to their maiden IPL crown, picking up 17 wickets in his maiden IPL season. Eight years on, he continues to be just as effective despite a few run-ins with injuries.
However, if there’s a batting line-up capable of combating anything that is thrown at them, it’s the Sunrisers. Abhishek Sharma has set the tempo at the top and Travis Head has already shown how dangerous he can be in that game against Mumbai Indians. Then there’s Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen in unbelievable six-hitting form.
CSK too have a prolific six-hitter in Shivam Dube, who has struck at 177.09 against spin since last year’s IPL while they also see Daryl Mitchell warming up to a similar role, one of the reasons why they broke the bank for him at the auction. One team likes data and match-ups, the other believes in gut feel and vibe. It’s a contest of contrasts in that sense, but what unites them is the thrill their power-hitters can generate.
Team news and Impact Player strategy
Players In the spotlight
For two straight games now, Mayank Agarwal has struggled to force the pace in the powerplay, scoring a total of 27 off 30 balls. There has also been a pattern to his dismissals in each of Sunrisers’ three games so far, with bowlers digging the ball into the pitch on a length or short of a length to tuck him up. In a batting line-up bursting at its seams with firepower, Agarwal needs to come good soon to ward off any imminent threat to his spot.
Ravindra Jadeja won CSK last year’s final alright, but his overall batting returns have diminished since IPL 2022, with a strike rate of 133.90 and a highest score of 26* in 25 innings in the tournament. His numbers against spin have been particularly worrying, with 77 balls bringing him just 83 runs. His struggle against Capitals in Visakhapatnam, and Dhoni’s late fireworks, have raised the prospect of a batting-order shuffle, but CSK aren’t known to change things drastically. Can Jadeja repay their faith?
Vital Stats that matter
- Klassen’s strike rate of 200.00 against spin is the highest among those who have made 200 or more runs against spin since the start of IPL 2023.
- Ajinkya Rahane has been dismissed six times in 16 T20 innings by Bhuvneshwar Kumar while scoring 90 off 103 balls.
- Bhuvneshwar vs Dhoni has gone the batter’s way, though: 94 runs of 57 balls without being dismissed.
- Since the start of IPL 2023, Klaasen has ransacked left-arm orthodox spinners for 104 runs off 49 balls without being dismissed. Will this change CSK’s use of Jadeja in any way?
SRH vs CSK IPL 2024 Match 18 probable playing XIs:
Sunrisers Hyderabad predicted playing XI: Mayank Agarwal, Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (wk.), Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, Jaydev Unadkat.
Chennai Super Kings predicted playing XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Ravindra Jadeja, Sameer Rizvi, MS Dhoni (wk.), Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Matheesha Pathirana.
Fantasy XI for CSK vs SRH : Heinrich Klaasen (vc), Ajinkya Rahane, Travis Head, Rachin Ravindra, Abhishek Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Aiden Markram, Daryl Mitchell, Moeen Ali, Pat Cummins, Matheesha Pathirana.
SRH vs CSK Match Prediction
While this match is tuned to be as a big run fest it is evident from previous matches that Chennai Super Kings are favorites to win this match unless Sunrisers rise to the occasion with another thunderous batting performance.