Dhoni’s team under immense pressure

It is a do-or-die match for MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as it takes on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Placed in the last and penultimate position, CSK and SRH have both won a match and lost two.

Uncharacteristically placed at the last place in the points tally, CSK hopes for a reversal in fortune as it takes on a strong-looking SRH led by Aussie David Warner in the 14th match of the ongoing IPL-2020 in Dubai, UAE. The tournament shifted to UAE in view of India’s COVID-19 scenario, has been a super-duper hit so far.

CSK hasn’t had the best of openings that it has enjoyed over the years; it has lost two matches in a row after winning the inaugural encounter against Mumbai Indians (MI). Critics attribute the absence of Suresh Raina and Dwayne Bravo as the reasons for CSK’s below-par show; MSD’s team of ‘seniors’ has to bounce back in style to silence its detractors who are growing in numbers.

CSK hopes for a good outing

CSK is targeting Friday’s match against SRH to rediscover its winning touch to redeem its poor net run rate (-0.840) to cope with. It has every reason to go bang-bang against SRH if it won the toss. Experts believe that CSK hasn’t performed as expected because the team hasn’t clicked collectively except for flashes of individual brilliance.

Watson hasn’t fired at the top though du Plessis and Rayudu (who is expected to return for tomorrow’s match along with Bravo) have been in top form; Rayudu’s freak injury let Gaikwad in but the youngster failed to capitalize on the opportunity. Sam Curran has been very good with the bat and ball but remains to be seen whether he makes the team as IPL rules allow only 4 foreigners in a team.

SRH hopes to keep the momentum going

Unlike CSK, SRH lost both its initial encounters but won its third match against Delhi Capitals (DC). Batters Warner, Bairstow, and Kane Williamson are in great form while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan are SRH’s leading bowlers. CSK leads head-to-head clashes (9-3) in their 12 encounters but SRH may look to keep the momentum going.

Expected XI:

CSK: Watson, Rayudu, du Plessis, Kedar Jadhav, MSD, Bravo, Jadeja, Josh Hazlewood/Sam Curran, Deepak Chahar, Piyush Chawla, Gaikwad

SRH: Warner, Bairstow, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, T. Natarajan