Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings are among the top performing teams in IPL this season. Sunrisers sit on top of the pile with nine wins from 11 matches and are assured of a place in the playoffs while the Super Kings should make it as well after seven wins from 11 matches.
Both teams entered the tournament with a hint of trepidation. Sunrisers had lost talismanic batsman and captain David Warner to the ball-tampering scandal while the Super Kings were returning to the tournament after a two-year suspension.
Hyderabad opted for the stable leadership of Kane Williamson while Chennai filled their line-up with veterans like Shane Watson, Harbhajan Singh and Suresh Raina, with a 36-yer-old MS Dhoni calling the shots.
As the two teams face off in Pune on Sunday, it’s safe to say most of the concerns have been put to rest. Ambati Rayudu (435 runs) and Dhoni (393) have been mesmerising with the bat for Chennai with the former striking at over 150 and the skipper above 160. Hyderabad have relied heavily on an all-round bowling attack to defend targets of less than 151 four times in a row.
CAPTAINS FANTASTIC
It should come as no surprise that the two teams were led out of the tricky early phase by two of the finest captains in world cricket – messrs Dhoni and Williamson.
The Indian wicketkeeper’s leadership skills have stood the test of time with the gloveman winning every title at the international and T20 level. This year, Dhoni has overcome two serious challenges – a team full of 30-plus cricketers and his worsening back problem. Players like Rayudu, Watson (367 runs), Raina (313 runs) and Harbhajan Singh (seven wickets at an economy of 7.7; although he went for 29 from two against Rajasthan) have shown that they can still pull their weight in the shortest format. And Dhoni has relied almost exclusively on the strength of his forearms to muscle 28 sixes in the tournament.
That is Dhoni's angry look. Still looks like an ice cube though. #RRvCSK #IPL2018
— Chetan Narula (@chetannarula) May 11, 2018
Williamson has not allowed the absence of Warner to affect the team dynamics. Batting without showing even a hint of urgency, the unflappable Kiwi ace has raced to 493 runs from 11 matches at a strike rate of 135 to do what Warner did for the Sunrisers in previous seasons.
His uncomplicated approach was on display in the team’s previous clash against Delhi Daredevils when Rishabh Pant smashed an audacious 128. Williamson cracked an unbeaten 83 with minimum fuss to secure victory, along with Shikhar Dhawan, chasing 189 with nearly two over to spare.
Kane Williamson, for sheer watching pleasure -- apart from prolific run getting -- you are a class apart! 🙏
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) May 10, 2018
PLAYERS IN FOCUS
Chennai all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is on a bit of a roll at the moment. His last two outings have ended impressively – 3-18 against Bangalore and 1-28 against Rajasthan. For a finger spinner to go two T20 games at seven or under is superb and Jadeja will hope to make it a hat-trick.
Rashid Khan has picked up 13 wickets for Sunrisers in 11 matches at an economy of 7.29. He has gone for some runs this year but is still one of the most economical bowlers in the league. He has declared that if he lands the ball where he wants then no batsman can go after him. Looks like a challenge has been thrown to MS Dhoni.
LIKELY LINE-UPS
Chennai Super Kings: Shane Watson, Ambati Rayadu, MS Dhoni (c), Sam Billings, Suresh Raina, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Lungi Ngidi, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Alex Hales, Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson (c), Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Shreevats Goswami (wk), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma, Rashid Khan
