We take a look at the first IPL qualifier for 2018 which will see the Sunrisers Hyderabad go up against the Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede.
And then there were four! The Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Chennai Super Kings will go head to head in the first qualifier as the two best teams at IPL 11 look to book their place in the final.
The Sunrisers may have peaked too soon, losing each of their last three matches, something MS Dhoni and his men will be looking to take advantage of when the sides meet at the Wankhede.
SRH vs CSK | Tuesday 22 May | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai | 16:30
To Win Match
Sunrisers Hyderabad 23/20
Tie 35/1
Chennai Super Kings 72/100
Sunrisers Hyderabad
The Sunrisers Hyderabad most certainly deserve to have finished top of the regular season standings, however, three losses on the spin before the first qualifier means they’ve hardly had ideal preparations.
Their most recent defeat came at the hands of the Kolkata Knight Riders with Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa and Dinesh Karthik making short work of their 173-run target. It would be insane to think that SRH have lost their bowling mojo altogether, although, they have been leaking a few more runs than usual of late.
This doesn’t bode well for a team who has for the most part of the season relied heavily on their bowlers to restrict opposition batsmen. Certainly they may well struggle to get things back on track in the face of the most belligerent top and middle order in the competition.
You feel that more of the Sunrisers’ batsmen are going to need to step up to the plate here. Only Kane Williamson and Shikhar Dhawan have shown any real consistency with the willow, scoring more than half of their teams runs this season. If Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina get their teeth into the SRH attack, you feel it’ll be tickets for the Orange Army.
Chennai Super Kings
The Chennai Super Kings come into this match with all of the momentum. They dispatched the Kings XI Punjab in their final regular season match with Raina leading a wonderfully measured chase along with Deepak Chahal.
CSK have also had the better of the Sunrisers this season, beating them twice during the regular season. The likes of Rayudu, Dhoni, Watson and Raina have piled on the runs with the former finding plenty of joy against Tuesday evening’s opposition.
Rayudu bagged a 37-ball 79 in their first encounter before blitzing the SRH attack with a 62-ball 100 in the second. The Guntur native clearly has the measure of this bowling unit and will relish the opportunity to take them apart once again.
It probably hasn’t all gone according to plan in terms of the bowling for the Chennai franchise. That said, Lungi Ngidi came into the side mid-way through the season and made an instant impact. His five matches have seen him bag nine wickets with an economy rate of just 6.11. His contribution will be vital on what should be – by IPL standings – a pretty spicy wicket in Mumbai.
Verdict: Chennai Super Kings 72/100
All signs point toward a comfortable CSK victory – no, seriously. They’ve cruised past the Sunrisers in their last two encounters and have the momentum coming into the qualifier. Back them to book their place in the final on Tuesday at 72/100.
