🏏IPL 2023: Match 29 - CSK vs SRH on 21/04/2023 at 7:30 PM IST 🏏

🏏IPL 2023: Match 29 - CSK vs SRH at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on 21/04/2023 at 7:30 PM IST 🏏

Tag & Logo Credit: Sevenstreaks

Sunrisers Hyderabad brace for spin test in Chennai. Do SRH need to reconfigure their combination to try and score their first win against CSK at Chepauk? Can SRH score first win against CSK at home?

Sunrisers Hyderabad have not yet beaten Chennai Super Kings at home. They've played only three matches against CSK in Chennai, but visiting teams have always struggled for success at Chepauk, where Super Kings have won 19 of their last 23 games.

CSK have played only two home games so far but early signs are that Chepauk is staying true to reputation and assisting spin. Spinners have taken 16 wickets there this season with an economy of 8.13, while the fast bowlers have 11 wickets and an economy of 10.66.

Rajasthan Royals did return victorious from Chennai for the first time since 2008, but they fielded three world-class spinners in R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal and Adam Zampa. And yet they won by only three runs off the final ball.

Sunrisers don't have the same depth in their spin attack. They've been playing Washington Sundar, who's bowled 11 overs in five games without a wicket, and Mayank Markande, while keeping Adil Rashid and Akeal Hosein on the bench because of team balance. Will captain Aiden Markram look to bring in an international spinner because of the conditions at Chepauk?

Spin will also test Harry Brook, who has been opening for Sunrisers in recent games and scored a hundred too. But MS Dhoni would have definitely noted Brook was successful against pace and circumspect against spin during his century against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Sunrisers haven't been the fastest starters with the bat this season either: their powerplay run-rate of 7.13 is the lowest among all teams, while Super Kings' 9.86 is the highest. They might have to approach this contest differently and attack CSK's quicks early on, so that they don't leave themselves too much to do against the spinners in Chennai.

Thanks for the tag Raji

Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad Pitch Report

The pitch at MA Chidambaram Stadium is spin-friendly. The spinners will play a key role while bowling here as the ball tends to grip off the surface. Run-scoring isn’t easy and the batters will have to be on their toes while batting here.

Pitch and conditions

The two games in Chennai so far have had good batting tracks with enough in them for spinners. The fast bowlers been expensive and the trend could continue. The weather is expected to be warm and humid.

Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad Weather Forecast

Clear skies will greet both sides on Friday, with the temperature in Chennai expected to hover between 28 to 36 degrees Celsius.

Impact Player strategy

Chennai Super Kings

Super Kings have been using Ambati Rayudu only during their batting innings, swapping him in or out for a bowler depending on whether they bowl first or second.

Probable XII: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Shivam Dube, 5 Ambati Rayudu, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 9 Tushar Deshpande, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Matheesha Pathirana/Mitchell Santner, 12 Akash Singh

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers' use of the Impact Player doesn't have a consistent pattern, though it's usually been a batter for a bowler or vice versa. Against Knight Riders, they subbed out Harry Brook after he scored a hundred and brought in Washington Sundar, and in their next game against Mumbai they subbed out T Natarajan after they finished bowling and brought in Abdul Samad for the chase.

Probable XII: 1 Harry Brook, 2 Mayank Agarwal, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Aiden Markram (capt), 5 Abhishek Sharma, 6 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Marco Jansen/Akeal Hosein/Adil Rashid, 11 Mayank Markande, 12 T Natarajan/Vivrant Sharma

Will Sunrisers look to strengthen their spin attack by playing Adil Rashid in Chennai?

Team news: Stokes still doubtful but Santner's fit

Ben Stokes is likely to miss a fourth successive game as he recovers from a heel injury, though he did bat and bowl in the nets for a short while on Wednesday. Mitchell Santner has recovered from illness and is available for selection.

Thank you, Raji, for the thread and for tagging me.   

Best wishes to both teams and to all the supporters. 

Go Chennai...go! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dPDFcvVZy0

Stats that matter

• CSK are the only IPL opponents against whom Mayank Agarwal has not scored a half-century in more than 10 innings.
• In the last two IPL seasons, only Nitish Rana and Sanju Samson have more runs than Ruturaj Gaikwad's 235 against Sunrisers.
• Tushar Deshpande has picked up five wickets in the last five overs this season, the second most by a fast bowler. However, his economy of 12.81 in this phase is the highest among bowlers to have bowled at least 30 balls.
• Bhuvneshwar Kumar has dismissed Ajinkya Rahane six times in 103 deliveries in the IPL, and only conceded 90 runs

Given they were billed as one of the strongest teams heading into the tournament, Sunrisers Hyderabad haven't really made the greatest of starts. They began their campaign with two losses but followed it up with two wins that appeared to put them on the right track. But another setback followed, this time against Mumbai Indians, at home to make it three losses out of five. While it isn't ideal, a statement win at a venue not many visiting teams prevail in will definitely help them set their campaign back on track. SRH have never won at Chepauk but opponents hardly win here anyway. But it certainly isn't an impossible task like Rajasthan Royals showed a few days ago.

Going by the recent trend in the ongoing edition that has seen away teams win eight out of the last ten contests, a win for the visitors cannot be ruled out. In local boy Washington Sundar, in-form Mayank Markande and overseas recruits Adil Rashid and Akeal Hosein, SRH definitely have the bowlers to pose problems. If Chepauk indeed dishes out a turner, SRH have the likes of Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Abhishek Sharma and Aiden Markram to counter that. But if the pitch is full of runs, these matchups could go for a toss.

CSK have been in pretty good nick with the bat compared to their opponents. They have already breached 200 twice this season, with the latest coming on Monday (April 17) in Bangalore. Ruturaj Gaikwad hasn't come to the party in the last two games despite a strong start and if he gets back amongst the runs, that batting unit has the potential to cause absolute mayhem. In Matheesha Pathirana, the home side appear to have found someone to rely upon at the death and Tushar Deshpande is hitting his strides after an erratic start. Form guide and history does favour CSK but SRH have what it takes to follow the Rajasthan Royals blueprint.