IPL 2019: Sunrisers takes on in-form CSK with time running out

Sunrisers Hyderabad, No. 6 on the points table, will hope to snap its losing streak when it runs into Chennai Super Kings in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

Surisers' over-dependence on openers David Warner and Jonny Bairstow has cost the side dearly in the last three matches.

Sunrisers Hyderabad, sulking with wounded pride after losing the last three games, should change gears when it takes on the formidable Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2019 league phase at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Wednesday night.

David Warner and Jonny Bairstow have been Hyderabad's batting linchpins so far but captain Kane Williamson would hope to come good on Wednesday, especially after a disappointing outing against the Delhi Capitals.

Hyderabad's middle-order has not clicked this season, despite the team management shuffling the batting around. It needs to win against Chennai to avoid slipping down further in the points table.

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If it was the experienced trio of Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan and Deepak Hooda which failed to come good in the earlier matches, the exciting young talent Abhishek Sharma, Ricky Bhui and Vijay Shankar too disappointed by not rising to the occasion in the previous game.

The onus is clearly once again on the top three to fire and set the platform for the others to chip in with handy contributions on a wicket which is said to be a typical T-20 strip.

In bowling, Sunrisers has little to worry with left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed being a certainty after his impressive spell against Delhi the previous night. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar too regaining his confidence and the spin duo of leggie Rashid Khan and left-armer Abhishek doing a decent job, it would hope to test the M.S. Dhoni-led batting line-up.

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On the other hand, nothing seems to be going wrong for CSK despite early setbacks in batting. The inspirational presence of Dhoni in the lower-order has been the most decisive factor which has dented the confidence and morale of the opposition consistently in this edition.

With leg-spinner Imran Tahir at his best and Harbhajan Singh likely to play because of left-handed opener Warner’s, Dhoni may have the liberty to experiment if he wants to.

By all means, Sunrisers needs a stand-out performance to surprise the favourites on home stretch.