IPL 2024, Match 18: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Chennai Super Kings Match Preview

Match 18 in the ongoing IPL 2024 will see Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) squaring off against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, on Friday, April 5.

Under Pat Cummins, Sunrisers Hyderabad have managed to enthral cricket enthusiasts with some excellent cricket but they have only one win to show for their efforts out of the three matches they have played. In their opening fixture, SRH fell tantalisingly short of a 209-run target, as they lost by four runs to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens. In their second game, the Orange Army registered their first victory of the season as they scored a jaw-dropping 277/3 in their 20 overs against Mumbai Indians (MI) at home and broke the record for the highest team total in the tournament's history. Cummins and Co. restricted Mumbai to 246/5 and won the high-scoring encounter by 31 runs.

In their most recent clash, Hyderabad struggled on a tricky Ahmedabad surface as they huffed and puffed their way to 162/8 in their 20 overs. Gujarat Titans (GT) controlled the chase well and eventually won with seven wickets and five balls to spare. Heinrich Klaasen has been the star performer for Hyderabad. The wicketkeeper-batter has scored 167 runs from three matches at an average of 83.50 and a strike rate of 219.74.

Also Check: Orange Cap in IPL 2024 - Most Runs

He has also hit the most number of sixes (17) in IPL 2024 thus far. Abhishek Sharma has also been in ominous touch as he has scored 124 runs from three matches at an average of 41.33 and a strike rate of 200. However, the bowling department has struggled to live up to its reputation.

Cummins has four wickets from three matches but Bhuvneshwar's form has been pedestrian. The Indian pacer has conceded 131 runs from 12 overs and has failed to pick up a wicket. Hyderabad fans will hope that the veteran returns to form on Friday and gets them some early wickets.

MS Dhoni handed captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of the season and the youngster has taken the role like fish to water. The Chennai faithful might have had their apprehensions because the last time Dhoni stepped down from captaincy in the 2022 season, and Ravindra Jadeja took the role, the team experienced a tempestuous start to their campaign before the iconic wicketkeeper-batter was reinstated. In fact, Jadeja left captaincy after just eight games and CSK eventually finished ninth on the table.

This year, the story has been quite different as Ruturaj guided his team to back-to-back wins in the first two matches. In the first match, Chennai got the better of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by six wickets with eight balls to spare as they chased down a 174-run target with consummate ease. They followed it up with another comfortable 63-run win against Gujarat Titans after posting 206/6 in their 20 overs. However, in their first away fixture of the season, Chennai suffered a 20-run defeat against Delhi Capitals as they failed to chase down a 192-run target.

Rachin Ravindra played blistering knocks in the first two games. Against RCB he scored 37 off 15 balls and he followed it up with a 20-ball 46 against GT. However, in the last game, he was found wanting against the control and swing of Khaleel Ahmed. In 12 balls, the southpaw scored just a couple of runs before being dismissed. Shivam Dube has looked in good touch for the defending champions. MS Dhoni rolled back the years with an unbeaten 16-ball 37 in the last game as he hit four fours and three sixes. Mustafizur is the current Purple Cap holder, with seven wickets from three games at an average of 15.14. Meanwhile, Matheesha Pathirana's return makes the bowling department a lot stronger.

Also Check: Purple Cap in IPL 2024 - Most Wickets

Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium Pitch Report and Conditions

Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium produced a batter's paradise for the SRH versus MI clash. A mind-boggling 523 runs were scored in the match, which is the highest aggregate runs in an IPL match. The venue is known for producing some tremendous batting surfaces and bowlers will have to be on the money with every ball they bowl. In 72 IPL matches, 40 have been won by chasing teams, while teams batting first have won 32. However, if the pitch is anything like the one that hosted the previous game, batting first and putting in a huge total could be the better option as the scoreboard pressure will be hard to tackle.

Click Here: SRH vs CSK Live Score, March 18

Probable Playing XI

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH):

Mayank Agarwal has failed to get going at the top for Hyderabad. He has scored just 59 runs in the three matches and is striking at 115.69. Hyderabad could look to bring back Rahul Tripathi in place of the Karnataka batter. T Natarajan's fitness has been a concern as the left-arm pacer missed the last two games after bagging a three-for against KKR. If he is fit, he will walk straight back into the side. The overseas contingent looks settled and there shouldn't be any changes there.

Predicted XI: Mayank Agarwal/Rahul Tripathi, Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, Jaydev Unadkat, 

Impact Player: Umran Malik

Chennai Super Kings (CSK):

Mustafizur Rahman is likely to miss this clash as he has flown to Bangladesh to process his US Visa ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024 in June. Left-arm seamer Mukesh Choudhary could come in for Mustafizur. He has the ability to swing the new ball and if he finds his radar, he could be a tough proposition to face.

Predicted XI: Rachin Ravindra, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Sameer Rizvi, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Chowdhary 

Impact Player: Matheesha Pathirana

Also Check: SRH vs CSK Dream11 Prediction

SRH vs CSK Head-to-Head Record