SRH look to maintain momentum

IPL STROKES

It’s a game between the best and the worst of the IPL-2021 and yet it’s still going to have a lot of eyes on it for various reasons. To start with, Sunrisers Hyderabad, who have won 2 games from 10 matches, is still not knocked out from the tournament and has an extremely tough outside chance. Though a lot of other teams' matches have to work exactly as needed by SRH. On the other side, Chennai Super Kings have won 8 out of their 10 matches and are going to play the remaining of the four league matches to lock their position in the top two slots.

CHENNAI ON TOP

Chennai have won all their 3 games of the UAE leg and are on top of the league table as of now, thanks to their superior net run-rate to Delhi Capitals. Chennai have won their first game at Dubai, second at Sharjah and third at Abu Dhabi. The experienced side of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, currently has the answer to all the questions asked by all the well prepared and highly experienced think tanks of various teams. Dhoni has always believed and invested in the experienced players over the years, and it has even yielded with consistent finishes, year after year.

On the contrary, Sunrisers Hyderabad won just one of their three games in the UAE leg, thanks to a fantastic knock from Jason Roy and Kane Williamson. Victories can swipe a lot of trash under the carpet, while losses are always ugly. It looks like David Warner, Hyderabad’s best player and highest run scorer over the years, has played his last match for the franchise and is going to rest for the remainder of the season.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

In the sixteen matches played between them, Chennai super kings have dominated by winning 12, in comparison to the 4 games. At Sharjah, both teams have played a solo game, which was won by Chennai. Although, when we come to the recent records and talk about the last 5 games, there Chennai lead Hyderabad by 3:2 only and their previous match of IPL 2021 was also won by Chennai. So overall, it’s all tilting in favour of Chennai.

Sharjah in 2021 is very different from Sharjah in 2020. The pitch is slow, spin-friendly, and makes very difficult for the batsmen. Scores of around 130 have been tough to chase down and we think 150-160 could be a winning total in this match as well. The spinners are going to dominate in this match and we are going to bet on this being a low-scoring thriller once more.

WHAT TO EXPECT?

The last game that Sunrisers played against Rajasthan Royals, showcased a very different attitude and game from the Hyderabad boys. They are definitely going to be playing the remainder of the games for fun and pride. Pressure was something, which surely didn’t showcase on their face, which allowed them to chase a competitive score of 164 with a lot of ease and 9 balls to spare as well.

Dhoni doesn’t like to change a lot, but considering the pitch conditions, Imran Tahir or Mitchell Santner could come in place of Josh Hazlewood. Considering the poor run of form of Suresh Raina, Dhoni might also have an eye on Robin Uthappa or Cheteshwar Pujara or Krishnappa Gowtham as well.

Hyderabad, who have won a game after 6 consecutive defeats, are definitely going to stick to the winning combinations, unless an injury or unavailability forces them. The captain will have an eye on Mujeeb Ur Rahman, but currently he cannot replace any of the foreign players. Shahbaz Nadeem is another important player, considering the pitch conditions.