Hyderabad: Having missed the World Cup bus, Ambati Rayudu will be aiming to make a statement when a marauding Chennai Super Kings take on a desperate Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL encounter here on Wednesday. The World Cup snub to Rayudu is the sole disappointment in an otherwise superb tournament so far for Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men as they are just a win away from clinching the play-off berth.
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The Hyderabad right-hander had found some form with a half-century against Rajasthan Royals and the flamboyant batsman, who was seen as a sure-shot No 4 in the national team, may just channelise the disappointment against a faltering Sunrisers. While CSK sit pretty on top of the table with 14 points from eight games, Sunrisers’ have suddenly gone off the boil with a hat-trick of defeats, including an inexplicable batting collapse against Delhi Capitals in their last game.
What has been CSK’s strength despite an ageing team has exactly been Sunrisers’ bane in the matches that they have played so far. While CSK have had plans A, B and C for various situations, Sunrisers have failed miserably whenever their their opening pair of Jonny Bairstow and David Warner have failed to perform. Barring Warner’s 400 runs and Bairstow’s 304 runs, the next best is World Cup bound Vijay Shankar’s 132 runs. On the other hand, Dhoni has played various combinations depending on surfaces and more often than not, his teammates have responded pretty well.
Probable XI
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Kane Williamson (C), David Warner, Vijay Shankar, Manish Pandey, Jonny Bairstow (WK), Deepak Hooda, Abhishek Sharma, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma
Chennai Super Kings
Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadhav, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir.
