For two teams who have historically started the tournament with their combinations settled, both Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have had a troubling start to their campaigns. Both teams have lost 2 out of the 3 matches they have played.
While CSK started their campaign on a winning note, and then lost two on the trot, SRH could only get their first win in their third game.
The biggest bone of contention would be the performance of their spinners. While Imran Tahir is still to get a game this season, no other spinner has been amongst the wickets for them, alongside being expensive.
SRH would be high on confidence after their victory in the last game. It was the good old SRH on display, defending totals with their brilliant bowling attack. Kane Williamson’s addition to the middle order did look like a convincing problem to their biggest problem, an inexperienced middle order. Williamson is someone who can hold the innings together, and accelerate with pure cricketing shots.
Chennai however, are still looking for their best playing 11 as they find themselves in an unfamiliar position, the bottom of the table. While Sam Curran has filled in the shoes of Dwayne Bravo convincingly, Suresh Raina’s and Bhajji’s replacements in the squad seem far from performing on the same level.
The biggest say in this edition of IPL have been of the venues. With the team lacking any previous data and the venues being so different from each other, captains have struggled in picking the 11 to suit the pitches. Even the choice to bat or bowl first after winning the toss has been a hard one to make.
With Rayudu fit and ready to return, captain Dhoni would be a little relieved. Ambati Rayudu played a crucial role in CSK’s win in the season opener, before warming the bench for 2 games because of an injury. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who played at numbers 4 and 5 in the previous games, could be promoted to open alongside Shane Watson, giving the axe to Murli Vijay. Dwyane Bravo is also fit and ready for selection, but for him to pip Sam Curran, after the latter’s performances, seems unlikely for the time being.
SRH would not like to tinker with the combination that gave them their first win in the season. But if Vijay Shankar is fit and match-ready, he is likely to walk back into the squad in place of Priyam Garg.
Likely 11s:
CSK: Shane Watson, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, Sam Curran, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jadhav, Deepak Chahar, Piyush Chawla/Shardul Thakur, Josh Hazlewood/Imran Tahir.
SRH: David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson, Priyam Garg/Vijay Shankar, Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Khaleel Ahmed
