HYDERABAD: Sunrisers Hyderabad have had a mixed start to their campaign this season. Having lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by a mere four runs, they soared against Mumbai Indians, posting IPL’s highest total of 277/3 on their home turf. But just as quickly, they lost to Gujarat Titans by seven wickets in the away game for their second loss in three games.
The 2016 champions will again bank on home comforts when they host defending champions Chennai Super Kings at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium on Friday.
Sunrisers’ captain
Pat Cummins
had said that they want to make their home a fortress and would like to build on the momentum from their previous victory at home against Mumbai Indians in a high-scoring thriller.
But whether the Sunrisers will have the crowd rooting for them remains to be seen. If the lead-up to the match is any indication, the venue should be a sea of yellow as the city braces for the MS Dhoni factor.
That apart, the hosts need to sort out their batting inconsistency. While
Travis Head
has had the desired effect at the top, the same can’t be said of Mayank Agarwal, who has struggled in the last two outings. His inability to maintain a healthy strike rate may push the management to consider Rahul Tripathi.
Heinrich Klaasen
(167) has been their best batter along with
Abhishek Sharma
(124) and Head (81). The trio will come into the match brimming with confidence following their blitzkriegs on this surface. While Head hit an 18-ball half-century, Abhishek notched up SRH’s fastest fifty in 16 deliveries, both against Mumbai.
The SRH bowling also needs to get its act together against a batting lineup filled with world-class players. Veteran
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
has been disappointing and it needed all of Pat Cummins’ expertise to pull things back when MI threatened to cut loose. But the 20-run loss to DC in Vizag has exposed CSK top-order’s vulnerability against the moving ball, which the Sunrisers can capitalise on if Bhuvi gets into the act in powerplay.
Dhoni turned the clock back with his unbeaten 16- ball 37 against DC and the fans here will lap up everything he does on the field. CSK will miss the variations of
Mustafizur Rahman
, who is back in Bangladesh.
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