Things are bound to get interesting as the two former IPL champions lock horns in the 1st IPL qualifier here at the Wankhede stadium. Both the teams have 18 points with 9 wins and 5 loses each. However, SRH attained the top spot, considering their higher net run rate than the CSK in points table.
Match Date: 22nd May 2018, Tuesday
Match Timing: 19:00 IST, 13:30 GMT
Match Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India
Match Importance
A win from here will guarantee a spot in the grand finale for either of the team, scheduled to be held on 27th May at the same venue. The loser will get another chance to enter the final by playing the winner of qualifier which will be contested between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Weather Forecast
There is no signs of rain, and the temperature will range from 30’c to 34’c in the evening with a cloud cover of 34%. However the humidity level of 74% will make it a hotter evening in the financial capital.
Positives from last match
CSK: Lungi Ngidi was way too economical giving just 10 runs in 4 overs and also picked 4 wickets in the process against Kings XI Punjab. CSK has struggled to find a death overs specialist, but it could have been sorted with the like of Ngidi and Shardul Thakur stepping up.
Shane Watson (438 runs from 13 matches) too has been in top form along with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Suresh Raina also showed some form by playing a blisterring innings of 61 of 48 balls.
SRH: The new opening combination of Shikhar Dhawan and Shreevats Goswami is clicking at the moment as they added 79 runs for the first wicket in their last encounter against KKR.
Siddharth Kaul was back to his best by delivering the figures of 2/26 after going for runs in past matches.
Area of concern
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni’s concern for a perfect death overs specialist never seems to be getting over as DJ Bravo is leaking runs at the latter part of the innings, whereas, Harbhajan Singh is unable to pick wickets in the middle overs and also doesn’t contain the run flow that mounts pressure on the pacers.
SRH: The Williamson led side is coming from a back of three straight defeats from the league stage and is lacking the winning momentum at the present.
Manish Pandey is not doing the job for which he is known for and has prooved way to inconsistent throughout the tournament.
Key Players
Chennai Super Kings: Ambati Rayudu and Lungi Ngidi
SRH: Kane Williamson and Rashid Khan
Head to Head Battle
9 Matches played between the two teams
7 times CSK has won
2 times SRH has won
Key Battles
It will be the battle of CSK’s highest run-getter Ambati Rayudu and SRH’s most wicket taking bowler Rashid Khan.
Astrological Predictions
CSK’s win percentage: 78%
SRH’s win percentage: 22%
Teams
Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Faf Du Plessis, Harbhajan Singh, Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayadu, Deepak Chahar, K M Asif, Kanish Seth, Lungi Ngidi, Dhruv Shorey, Murali Vijay, Sam Billings, Mark Wood, Kshtiz Sharma, Monu Kumar, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur, N agadeesan, David Willy.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kane Williamson (C ), Shikhar Dhawan, Manish Pandey, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Wriddhiman Saha, Siddharth Kaul, Deepak Hooda, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Shreevats Goswami, Ricky Bhui, Basil Thampi, T Natarajan, Sachin Baby, Bipul Sharma, Mehdi Hasan, Tanmay Agarwal, Alex Hales, Carlos Brathwaite, Rashid Khan, Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Nabi and Chris Jordan.
