INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE | GUJARAT TITANS’ SAI SUDHARSAN FASTEST TO 3,000 IPL RUNS
MATCH TODAY – CHENNAI SUPER KINGS VS SUNRISERS HYDERABAD AT 7:30 PM
Chennai, May 17: With the playoffs qualification at stake, Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to rise above their batting inconsistencies against an equally desperate five-time champions Chennai Super Kings in their IPL match here on Monday.
Placed third in the points table with 14 points in 12 matches, SRH (NRR 0.331) need to win both their remaining two group stage games to avoid late hiccups in the journey towards the knockouts.
Even if they lose one of these two matches, SRH could still finish in the final four but the 2016 winners will need both Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals falter in at least one of their remaining two games.
However, SRH’s wobbly run does present the Pat Cummins-led side to put together a unified show especially at the business end of the tournament where they seem to have stuttered, losing two of their last three fixtures. In their last outing against Gujarat Titans, SRH looked in control having restricted them to 168 for five on a tricky wicket but fell apart for a mere 86 against high quality pace bowling.
Before that, SRH had extended Punjab Kings’ losing streak with a 33-run victory in a high-scoring game but it came after Kolkata Knight Riders had hammered them by seven wickets.
Meanwhile, the road ahead for CSK is not easy either even as they stand with a chance to finish with 16 points, but for that they will have to win their remaining two matches.
The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side had slipped to the sixth spot following their loss to Lucknow Super Giants in their last outing, and they currently have 12 points from as many matches.
Even on Net Run Rate, CSK are behind in the race with a tally of 0.027 compared to RR (0.082) – who have three matches left – and PBKS (13 points, NRR 0.355) are also in the fray.
But CSK can still fancy their chances given the gumption their players and the support staff have shown while facing innumerable obstacles, including injuries to multiple key players.
The current bunch looks far different from the resources CSK had entered the IPL with, yet they continue to fight hard with a couple of new signings in the form of Macneil Noronha and Kuldip Yadav.
Kartik Sharma’s emergence as a dependable middle-order batter along with Urvil Patel’s explosiveness has added to the firepower that CSK have at the top in Sanju Samson.
But bowling will remain a concern, especially after the last game in which a century opening stand from LSG batters had defied the hosts. (PTI)
