CSK vs SRH IPL 2019 preview: Hyderabad’s bowlers versus Dhoni’s batting heroics

Every iota of doubt that was hoovering over MS Dhoni’s form or abilities has vanished after his sensational assault against RCB. He may have failed to cross the line that day but it was enough to give bowlers a nightmare.

And this is why the SRH vs CSK battle is enticing. A well-oiled and versatile bowling artillery versus Dhoni’s muscle. And not to forget the fireworks from the duo of Warner and Bairstow.

Venue:

A surface that has remained slow and difficult for batting, the Chennai wicket has made the 160s look like 200. Expect the spinners to have a say and as it will be difficult to score once the ball loses the shine, both teams will bank on their openers to make the Powerplays count.

Off to Chennai Wid @rashidkhan_19 @sandeep25a n @SunRisers . JAI MATA DI ?? pic.twitter.com/AVl2seOU0V

— Siddharthh Kaul (@iamsidkaul) April 22, 2019

Form guide:

Watson, Raina are having a tough time while Rayudu has been scratchy. Jadeja has more misses than hits and Faf’s potential hasn’t been materialised yet. The glue is Dhoni’s astounding batting form and with Bravo’s addition the strongest part of their batting unit is their middle-order.

The bowling though is in safe hands with Chahar and Tahir while others have chipped in well.

Hyderabad have the best opening pair in Indian Premier League 2019 but that is followed by a weak and vulnerable middle-order. Their bowlers have recovered well from the bad days and the addition of Khaleel Ahmed has worked wonders.

Key numbers:

• CSK has dominated the head to head battles against SRH. They won nine matches out of the 12 played between the two sides.

• Suresh Raina is the leading run-scorer between the two teams with 377 runs.

Players in focus:

With 15 wickets, Dwayne Bravo is the leading wicket-taker in the matches played between the two teams. However he is having a below par IPL season so far and has conceded 9.15 runs per over, the second-most he has ever in any IPL season. Can he choke SRH’s  already under-pressure batting unit? The other day he claimed two wickets and looked in good touch.

.@imK_Ahmed13's tendency to click pictures with this legend!

Who do you think is @BhuviOfficial referring to? – Find out in the full video as Bhuvi plays Sherlock to Khaleel's Instagram account. By @28anand. @SunRisers

Watch the full video ? – https://t.co/fKb1Bt0GG5 pic.twitter.com/XNNJRWC3IG

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 22, 2019

The inclusion of Khaleel Ahmed has given SRH an edge in IPL 2019. He already has seven wickets in just three games and has given away just 7.08 runs per over and has claimed a wicket every 10.28 balls.