April 21, 2023
The four-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings are having a great start by winning three of their first five games. After beating RCB at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, they will now host Sunrisers Hyderabad at MA Chidambaram Stadium on 21st April from 7:30 pm. CSK is currently at the number three position with 6 points, while SRH are at the number nine position with 4 points in 5 games.
CSK won a nail-biter against RCB a few days back. Batting first, CSK set a target of 227 runs for RCB. Conway (82) and Shivam Dubey (52) scored half-centuries from the CSK side, while Rahane and Moeen Ali played a destructive cameo to guide CSK to 226 runs in 20 overs. CSK’s pacers were battered away in the storm created by Faf du Plessis (62 off 33) and Glenn Maxwell (76 off 36). But the spinners took both the set batters, followed by classy bowling from Maheesha Pathirana. CSK won the game by 8 wickets.
SRH suffered a loss at the hands of Mumbai Indians at Wankhede. Batting first, Mumbai Indians scored 192 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. Marco Jansen took 2 wickets for SRH. The chase started poorly as SRH lost their two wickets in the first four overs to Jason Behrendorff. Mayank Agarwal and Henrich Klassen tried their best to take the team to win the third game in the trot. But Arjun Tendulkar gave just 5 runs in the last over to help Mumbai beat SRH by 14 runs.
Most of the battles between these two have been won by CSK. In the last game between these two, both CSK openers Gaikwad and Conway scored half-centuries to set a target of 203 runs. Natrajan was the only successful bowler from the SRH side with two wickets. SRH started the chase on a high note, but the wickets kept falling on a regular interval. Despite Nicholas Pooran’s 64 in 34 balls in the end, SRH lost the game by 13 runs.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway have a strike rate above 150 against SRH.
CSK has one of the most destructive batting lineups in this season. Their openers are scoring in each game, while numbers 3 and 4 are pacing the innings set by the opening duos. Gaikwad has scored 200 runs in 5 games at a strike rate of 150.38. On the other hand, Conway is just 19 runs behind his colleague with a strike rate of 148.36. The duo had put a partnership of 182 runs (Gaikwad 99, Conway 85) against SRH in the last season. Besides that, Gaikwad has scored 235 runs in 4 games against SRH.
You will be surprised to see that Ajinkya Rahane has the highest strike rate from the CSK camp. The number three batter has scored 129 runs in three games at a strike rate of 195.45. Rahane showed superb fielding against RCB that helped them save crucial runs. Shivam Dubey was on another level with the bat in the last game for CSK. Dubey scored 52 off just 27 balls. The middle order comprising of Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali, and Jadeja are adding the required runs.
The bowling unit is a key concern for CSK. In the absence of Mukesh Chaudhary and Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande has taken the lead on his shoulders. The pacer has 10 wickets in 5 games. But he is going over 10 runs per over. CSK’s all-rounders Jadeja and Ali have 6 wickets each at an economy of just 7. With Theeksana and Pathirana back into the attack, hopefully, the bowling crisis will be over for CSK.
Key Players: Rururj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ravindra Jadeja.
Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube, Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande, Matheesha Pathirana
SRH is yet to achieve consistency when it comes to results. After winning two games in a row, they lost to MI in a high-scoring game. Just like CSK, SRH has a batting lineup that can create havoc on any day. But they lack the collective efforts. Their most expensive buy, Harry Brook, scored an unbeaten century against KKR. But in the remaining 4 games, he has managed to add just 38 runs. His opening partner, Mayank Agarwal, is having an average, or we can say a poor season. The leading run-scorer of the last game has scored 113 runs at a strike rate of 108.65.
Rahul Tripathi played a match-winning knock of 74 runs against Punjab Kings. Else, his batting is not up to the expectations. Skipper Aiden Markram has a strike rate of 167.69, whereas his international team partner Henrich Klassen is scoring at 236.36. SRH should look forward to sending Klassen a place to get him more balls. SRH’s batting is moving around these 5 players. The uncapped Abhishek Sharma or impact player Abdul Samad are not adding value to the batting unit. If CSK takes early wickets, it will be a game over for the visitors. Markram will be our choice for the top batter.
SRH’s bowling unit is a step below their batting side. The bowlers are not taking the wickets. In 5 games, all are averaging 6 wickets per game. Mayank Markande is SRH’s leading wicket-taker with 6 wickets at an economy of 6.4. Even Marco Jansen has 6 wickets. But he and other pacers are giving more than 9 runs per over. Both CSK openers like pace, so seeing how Markram rotates the attack will be interesting.
Key Players: Harry Brook, Aiden Markram, Henrich Klassen.
Mayank Agarwal, Harry Brook, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram (c), Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Washington Sundar, Marco Jansen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, T Natarajan
The weather will be clear. The temperature will range between 29 and 36. The wind will be flowing from the west at 10-25 kmh. The pitch at MA Chidambaram Stadium is known for being a spin-friendly surface. The track tends to offer turn and bounce for the spinners, making it a challenging surface for the batsmen to score runs. The pitch is also known for its low bounce, which makes it difficult for the batsmen to play their shots. The spinners tend to dominate on this track, and the batsmen must be patient and carefully pick their shots.
The 29th T20 of the IPL 2023 will be played at MA Chidambaram Stadium on 21st April from 7:30 pm onwards. The venue has a capacity of 50000 spectators and has hosted 35 Tests, 32 ODIs & 6 T20Is. The highest-scoring game of the IPL was played on this ground between CSK and RR. 469 runs were scored between the two back in 2010.
In 16 T20Is, the team batting first has won the game on 5 occasions, while the team batting first has won 1 time. In the last 10 IPL games, the team batting first has won 6 times.. The team winning the toss should bat first.
It’s a home game for CSK, where they play with 200% more energy. They have been playing amazing cricket this year. Their entire batting lineup is contributing to the total. Ruturaj Gaikwad has 235 runs in 4 games against SRH and a partnership of 182 runs with Conway in the last game.
CSK have always dominated SRH since 2012. In 19 games, they have 14 victories against SRH. In recent History, they have lost just once in the last 5 games. Additionally, SRH has never won a game at MA Chidambaram Stadium.
We predict that Chennai Super Kings will defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The upcoming match between Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 21st promises to be an exciting one, with both teams having strong batting lineups. While CSK seems to be the favourite, having won most of the battles against SRH, the latter’s inconsistency is something that could work in their favour. Fans can watch the match and place their bets on an IPL betting site for added excitement. Key players to watch out for are Rururj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, and Ravindra Jadeja.
