The two IPL teams in Group B of CLT20 this year, former champions Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, will face off here on Thursday evening after a winning start to their campaigns.
Both teams registered four-wicket wins in their opening matches — CSK doing it quite convincingly against the Titans here on Sunday while Sunrisers managed to edge past Trinidad & Tobago in Mohali on Tuesday.
Given CSK’s track record, they will enter the contest as favourites but the Sunrisers, who made it to the tournament proper through the qualifiers, have managed to punch above their weight in their inaugural season in the league.
CSK’s spirited start in the tournament was fashioned by Suresh Raina and Michael Hussey, who led from the front as they chased down a total in excess of 180 against the Titans. The spotlight will be on the duo as much as their skipper and local boy M.S. Dhoni, who has not got much opportunity with the bat in the two matches at his home ground he has played here so far.
The kind of touch Dwayne Bravo and S. Badrinath showed in the middle order on Sunday, chasing should not be a worry for Dhoni. But he will be wary of the bowling that was not up to the mark in the last match.
The Sunrisers’ challenge will revolve around skipper Shikhar Dhawan’s bat and their bowing unit to a large extent.
The middle order looks a bit out of sync for Sunrisers and expecting Thisara Perera to deliver the kind of knock that he played on Tuesday every now and then will be overburdening the Sri Lankan all-rounder.