The timing of Chennai Super Kings’ defeat at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders could have not been better for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
CSK's convincing loss may have instilled that extra dose of confidence in the home team. The mood is upbeat in the Sunrisers’ camp after its win over Kings XI Punjab in its previous game.
It is imperative for the Sunrisers to look beyond David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan to post challenging scores.
That all the others failed to come good once the openers got out cheaply is an area of concern for coach Tom Moody.
The likes of Lokesh Rahul, Hanuma Vihari, Naman Ojha and Ravi Bopara, Eoin Morgan and Kane Williamson have promised a lot but failed to convert good starts.
It is a pity that Sunrisers have had to often choose between Dale Steyn and Trent Boult.
But with the league entering the decisive phase, it will be interesting to see whether both of them play against CSK at the expense of a foreign batsman.
On the other hand, Super Kings star-studded batting line-up comprising Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum at the top followed by the likes of Suresh Raina, Faf du Plesis, Dwayne Bravo, M.S. Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja can destroy the best of bowling attacks.
And, CSK’s bowling has plenty of variety with left-arm fast bowler Ashish Nehra (joint highest wicket-taker with 13 wickets along with Delhi Daredevils leggie Imran Tahir so far in this edition) and Mohit Sharma always giving the breakthroughs.
Though Dhoni is known not to tamper with the playing eleven easily, medium-pacer Ronit More might give way to Ishwar Pandey in this crunch game.
Though CSK continues to top the table with 12 points from eight games, the absence of its star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin because of an injury could be significant.
“Only when we go back to Chennai can we evaluate his fitness and when he will be able to bowl again. He is injured and that’s it,” Dhoni said after the seven-wicket defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday night.
The two left-arm spinners Ravindra Jadeja, who Dhoni felt could have bowled better in Kolkata the other night, and Pawan Negi, whose hard-hitting can be handy, will play a key role in the middle-overs.
Not surprisingly, irrespective of the big guns in both the teams, the biggest star attraction continues to be the inspirational Dhoni.
What with a sell-out crowd expected to throng the venue, fireworks of a different kind are sure to be on show on Saturday night.
