Hyderabad: A struggling Sunrisers Hyderabad face an uphill task to find their way through in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) as they get ready to take on formidable Chennai Super Kings at the Rajiv Gandhi International cricket stadium here tomorrow.
Sunrisers Hyderabad have six points from seven matches, having won three, and a win in the contest tomorrow is important for them to advance in the highly-competitive tournament.
Chennai Super Kings, on the other hand, are the table-toppers with 12 points from eight matches, having lost just two.
The Super Kings defeated the Sunrisers by 45 runs in their previous encounter in Chennai on April 11. Having lost to Kolkata Knight Riders yesterday, the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai side would look to consolidate its position in the tournament with a win over the home side.
Chennai’s strong contingent of S Dhoni, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo in the batting department and Ashish Nehra, Mohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Pawan Negi in bowling can give nightmares to any team with their brilliance.
It is the combined strength of the side that puts it on top of others in the event and the opposition will have to come with all their guns blazing to gain the upper hand.
The Sunrisers, playing their first match in Hyderabad this season, are beset with middle-order batting problems.
Captain David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan, the opening pair, have given a decent start to their innings in the tournament and the other batsmen K L Rahul, Naman Ojha, Ravi Bopara, Moises Henriques and local lad Hanuma Vihari are expected to help the team’s cause tomorrow.
Bowling has been the potent weapon in the armoury of Sunrisers with the presence of highly-competitive Trent Boult, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, all-rounder Moises Henriques, Dale Steyn, and Ishant Sharma.
Sunrisers suffered a setback with their overseas player Kevin Pietersen pulling out of the IPL this season to play for English cricket.
The home ground has often been lucky for the Hyderabad side.
PTI
