IPL 2023 PREVIEW: CSK vs SRH

Chennai Super Kings, after a close finish against Rajasthan, bounced back strongly and defeated the Royal Challengers Bangalore by 8 runs in their last game. They are looking in great form as a team with the batters scoring runs consistently and the bowling group improving in every game.

The likes of Devon Conway, Shivam Dube and Ajinkya Rahane are in good form while Ruturaj Gaikwad has gotten off track after a great start to the tournament. He needs to get back in form as the tournament progresses. The best thing for CSK is the performance of their pacers. Tushar Deshpande has been brilliant while Matheesha Pathirana won the game for them in the last match. Akash Singh has also been in good form with the ball. Spin is CSK’s strength and they have 3 quality spinners in Maheesh Theekshana, Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja. Apart from Ruturaj Gaikwad and Moeen Ali’s poor form with the bat, everything looks settled for the Men in Yellow and they’ll be eyeing another win in their own backyard.

Hyderabad had a poor start, then, they won 2 games in a row but lost their last game against the Mumbai Indians by 14 runs. They have won only 2 matches until now and they need to start winning to give themselves any chance of qualifying for the play offs. It will be a test for their batters at Chepauk against a very strong spin attack. Aiden Markram, Rahul Tripathi and Heinrich Klaasen will be their best batters. Marco Jansen and Mayank Markande will be the key bowlers for the Sunrisers. They’ll have to be on their toes if they are to win this game.

Probable XIs

Chennai:

Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu/Akash Singh (Impact Sub), Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana

Impact Subs: Akash Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Simarjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki

Hyderabad:

Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, T Natarajan

Impact Subs: Abdul Samad, Anmolpreet Singh, Kartik Tyagi, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Venue

MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

The last game played here saw the traditional Chepauk wicket with plenty of assistance for the spinners despite a lot of dew in the second innings. For our surprise, it was a good wicket for batting as well. The spinners will get plenty of assistance in this game while there will be some movement for the pacers with the new ball.

Total Matches: 122
Won Batting 1st: 65
Won Batting 2nd: 55
Tied: 2

Average 1st Innings Score: 157 runs

Head-to-Head

CSK: 14
SRH: 5

Key Players and Fantasy Picks

Chennai

Ruturaj Gaikwad has a phenomenal record against the Sunrisers. He has scored 235 runs in 4 innings at an average of 58.8 and his strike rate is 154.6. His best score is 99 runs which came last season. It’s high time that Gaikwad gets some runs and this may be the best chance for him to do so.

Ravindra Jadeja will be a key bowler for MS Dhoni as he has a positive match-up against Hyderabad’s right-hand heavy middle order. Jadeja has been in excellent form with the ball this season and he can pick up a few wickets in this game and don’t rule out his batting!

Tushar Deshpande is having a stellar season in IPL 2023. He has picked up 10 wickets in 5 matches and has been the lead pacer for his side. He has been brilliant with the new ball and has picked up wickets in the death overs as well. Deshpande will be a must-pick in fantasy cricket.

Devon Conway has been very consistent for Chennai this season. He scored a brilliant 83 in the last game and has a couple of fifties after 5 matches. Conway scored 85 runs in the only game he has played against the Sunrisers at a strike rate of 154.5 in the last edition.

Hyderabad

Aiden Markram

Aiden Markram will be be the best bet for his side against Chennai’s spin trio. He is an excellent player of spin bowling and is in good form as well. Markram has scored 109 runs in 4 games at an average of 36.33 and at a strike rate of 167.69. He bowls useful off-spin which will be important against Chennai’s left-hand heavy batting unit.

Heinrich Klaasen

Klaasen will be an excellent differential pick in fantasy cricket as he is one of the best players in spin bowling in his team. Klaasen is averaging 48 and his strike rate is 161.8 against all kinds of spinners in T20s this year. He showed glimpses of what he can do in the last game against Mumbai.

Abhishek Sharma

Abhishek Sharma scored 114 runs in the two games against CSK in IPL 2022. He has a great record against CSK - 165 runs @ 33 and his strike rate is 143.5. Sharma can be a kry batter for his side in the middle overs against the Chennai spinners. He’s an excellent differential pick in fantasy cricket.

Differential Picks for Fantasy Cricket: Ambati Rayudu (Bat 1st), Akash Singh (Bowl 1st), Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana

Fantasy Suggestions

Disclaimer: We don’t guarantee 100% winning in fantasy cricket. Users are requested to create their own combinations using the tips and numbers provided.