Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad Preview: Contrasting forms present a tough ask for the men in Orange

As the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 edition moves to Delhi, the teams will look to shore up their places in the points tally. Match #23 on Wednesday will see Chennai Super Kings take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in a battle of top versus bottom, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

While CSK have won their last four matches and are high on confidence, Sunrisers have lost four of their first five matches. With contrasting confidences in the camps, it may end up as another easy win for the Chennai side.

Chennai have done well after starting the season with a seven-wicket loss to Delhi Capitals. The manner of wins also highlights increased confidence, culminating in a 69-run thumping of Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Faf du Plessis (214 runs, SR 138.96) has been steady at the top helping the team to quick starts, while Deepak Chahar (eight wickets, ER 7.94) has been their master swinger with the ball. Th biggest positive, though, are the all-round returns of Ravindra Jadeja (102 runs, five wickets, seven catches).

Moeen Ali missed the previous game due to a niggle and should be back for this match, most probably in place of Darren Bravo.

Sunrisers Hyderabad lost their first three matches of the season before picking up a nine-wicket win over Punjab Kings. However, the agonising loss via Super Over to Delhi Capitals brings them back to square one.

Jonny Bairstow (211 runs, SR 141.61) is in scintillating form for the Sunrisers, while Kane Williamson has shown his mettle with a match-tying 66* against the Capitals. Rashid Khan (six wickets, ER 5.60) has been impressively frugal with the ball helping them stay afloat.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar missed their last match but should be back in contention for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Chennai Super Kings have a very strong 11-4 head-to-head record against Sunrisers Hyderabad that includes six wins in their last eight matches.

Last season saw the sides share the results with Sunrisers winning by seven runs and Super Kings winning by 20 runs.

Chennai Super Kings have got all their bases covered with Ruturaj Gaikwad finding form at the top of the innings and Ravindra Jadeja firing in all three departments. Captain MS Dhoni’s low scoring rates is a worry, but that is not affecting them much. For Sunrisers Hyderabad, their batting has been all about the foreign trio of Jonny Bairstow, David Warner, and Kane Williamson. Beyond them, the Indian batters are unable to find any form. That may prove to be the difference in the final analysis as Chennai retain an edge.

Chennai Super Kings have been in excellent form this season, which is in complete contrast to Sunrisers Hyderabad. Naturally, CSK remain a strong pick to end as a winner. As for other picks, the SRH opening pair of Bairstow and Warner look strong enough to carry their form and lead the charts in this match as well. They also give a chance for the Sunrisers to score more runs than the Super Kings in the first six overs.