IPL 2021: In-form CSK start as favourites against inconsistent SRH

SRH will need one of Warner, Bairstow, and Williamson to go big and hope that the middle-order can make a meaningful contribution

Operating like a well-oiled unit, the Chennai Super Kings will start as overwhelming favourites when they clash with struggling the SunRisers Hyderabad in Wednesday's Indian Premier League (IPL) match.

The MS Dhoni-led CSK have bounced back in style after losing their opening match. They are on a roll with four straight wins and will hope that the new venue — the Feroze Shah Kotla Ground at the Arun Jaitley Stadium — also favours them.

The three-time champions had an underwhelming 2020 season but the team, packed with seasoned players, is now displaying the efficiency it is known for.

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been the driving force behind CSK's impressive run so far.

His blistering assault on Harshal Patel in the final over shut out RCB on Sunday. He has been among the wickets with his accurate left-arm spin apart from effecting stunning run-outs. Openers Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad have found form while Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu are due for big knocks.

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The CSK batters are aware of the Rashid Khan threat but the rest of the SRH attack doesn't inspire much confidence. Hyderabad rely heavily on their foreign recruits, led by skipper David Warner, opener Jonny Bairstow, Kiwi great Kane Williamson, and Rashid, which is a huge cause for concern.

Their biggest weakness is a fragile batting order and an over-reliance on the top order.

The inability of the team's Indian middle-order to step up has cost SRH more often than not and the think-tank needs to get the combination right if they have to move out of the last spot on the points table which they currently occupy. Warner needs to shrug off his poor run and for that, he needs to negotiate CSK pacer Deepak Chahar well. Chahar has an impressive ability to strike up front.

Apart from Chahar, spinning all-rounder Jadeja and veteran Imran Tahir along with Sam Curran form a strong CSK bowling unit.

To thwart CSK, Hyderabad will need one of Warner, Bairstow, and Williamson to go big and hope that the middle-order can make a meaningful contribution. The Hyderabad bowling has been patchy with the experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar lacking consistency following a stellar series against England. The absence of yorker specialist T Natarajan due to injury is a huge blow. It's an onerous task for SRH to revive their fortunes with the limited resources they have at their disposal.

The squads:

Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain & wicketkeeper), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, KM Asif, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, N Jagadeesan (wicketkeeper), Karn Sharma, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shardul Thakur, Sam Curran, R Sai Kishore, Moeen Ali, K Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, Harishankar Reddy, Bhagath Varma, C Hari Nishaanth.

SunRisers Hyderabad: David Warner (captain), Kane Williamson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Manish Pandey, Sreevats Goswami (wicketkeeper), Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), Priyam Garg, Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Virat Singh, Jason Holder, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, Siddarth Kaul, Basil Thampi, Jagadeesha Suchith, Kedar Jadhav, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman.

The match starts at 7:30 pm.