Chennai Super Kings hold the upper hand as they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the first Qualifier of the IPL on Tuesday.
The Super Kings won the last match of the league phase, defeating play-offs hopefuls Kings XI Punjab by five wickets in a dominating performance. Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi snared 4-10 to decimate the Punjab batting line-up as Chennai ticked most boxes.
The Sunrisers had long qualified for the play-offs. However, complacency seems to have set in as they lost three matches in a row to take sheen off their stellar performance in the tournament.
Momentum changes quickly in a packed tournament like the IPL and the Super Kings know Hyderabad will be on the back foot as their campaign has suddenly gone off track.
ACE OF PACE
Both teams have a strong pace attack but Chennai have a clear edge. Sunrisers will rely on Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma and Siddarth Kaul. That’s a reliable fast bowling quartet but Chennai Super Kings have an ace up their sleeve – South African Ngidi.
The burly quick decimated Kings XI Punjab with a hostile spell and if he finds rhythm on Tuesday, the Sunrisers batsmen will find the going tough. Complementing him is Deepak Chahar who has a great record this season – nine wickets at an economy of 7.3.
CAPTAIN v CAPTAIN
Dhoni and Williamson are two of the finest captains in the game. Image: BCCI.
The teams are being led by two of the finest captains in the game. While Dhoni pretty much owns the IPL landscape and is the undisputed lord of the Chennai manor, Williamson has risen to the challenge of David Warner’s absence brilliantly by steering Sunrisers’ batting.
Both Dhoni (446 runs) and Williamson (661) have been unstoppable with the bat and the runs they score on Tuesday in Mumbai could have a major say in who makes a direct entry to the final.
In team news, Chennai might be inclined to drop England batsman Sam Billings as he has failed to get going for the better part of the tournament.
Sunrisers have an even bigger headache with Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan forming a fragile middle order batting line-up. They might be forced to move Shakib Al Hasan higher up the order or use Deepak Hooda as a power hitter.
Likely line-ups
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Shikhar Dhawan, Alex Hales, Kane Williamson (capt), Shreevats Goswami, Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Shakib Al Hasan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul
Chennai Super Kings: Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (capt, wk), Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Harbhajan Singh, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi
