IPL 2020 - MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings aim to get off bottom rung

MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings are at the bottom of the points table in IPL 2020. This is a joke right? This is a work of a social media troll, isn’t it? Sadly, it is not. MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings are indeed at the bottom of the table, after having lost two out of their first three games. After the win against Mumbai Indians, everyone thought that it will be business as usual for MS Dhoni’s ‘Dad’s Army’ but losses to Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals have dented their campaign.

This seems to be a repeat of the 2010 IPL campaign in which they lost five out of their first seven games but they bounced back in style to win the remaining games and the title in grand style. MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings will need to conjure up the same determination of 2010 in 2020. The opportunity has also presented itself against Sunrisers Hyderabad, a team against whom they have immense success.

Out of the 12 encounters played so far, Chenani Super Kings have a 9-3 advantage. In 2018, Chennai Super Kings pounced on the vulnerability of the Sunrisers Hyderabad team to win the title in grand style. However, they will also be aware that even Sunrisers Hyderabad are on the upward trend after beating Delhi Capitals. David Warner and Jonny Bairstow finally clicked in the tournament as a duo but the presence of Kane Williamson in the middle order has stabilized their batting immensely.

In the bowling, the area that won them the 2016 title, it finally clicked with Bhuvneshwar Kumar showing good rhythm. Rashid Khan was brilliant but it was the spell of Thangarasu Natarajan, the yorker machine of the Sunrisers Hyderabad team that was really heart-warming. In the death overs, his spell might make the difference if MS Dhoni decides to go on the rampage.

Team news

The best news for Chennai Super Kings is that Ambati Rayudu is fit and will come back in this game. This gives a huge boost to their batting line-up that has struggled so far. There is no word yet on Dwayne Bravo’s availability but if he comes in, then potentially either Josh Hazlewood or Sam Curran will go out. Sunrisers Hyderabad might not make any changes unless the pitch is a rank-turner, which could put Mohammad Nabi in place of Kane Williamson.

Probable Playing 11s

Chennai Super Kings: Murali Vijay, Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni(w/c), Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Josh Hazlewood/Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Piyush Chawla

Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner(c), Jonny Bairstow(w), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson, Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, K Khaleel Ahmed, T Natarajan

Match details

Match: Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad

Date and Time: 02^nd October, 7:30 PM IST

Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai

Statistics

Chennai Super Kings have won nine out of the 12 encounters against Sunrisers Hyderabad, including four out of the last five matches stretching back to 2018.