Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bowl first against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at Chepauk Stadium on Friday.
MS Dhoni’s struggling CSK, sitting at the bottom with just two wins in eight matches, is taking on SRH, placed at an equally poor position at number nine, with six losses in their eight matches. The loser will have to settle for the wooden spoon and an increased risk of elimination. Both teams have won just one match in their last five games. For SRH, Kamindu Mendis came in.
During the toss, SRH skipper Cummins said, “We are going to have a bowl first. Chennai is always a big game, coming off a couple of losses, but it is a new venue and the boys are up for it. If the wicket is good, backing them to get a big total and otherwise also, backing them to do well. The pitch looks a little bit dry.”
CSK skipper Dhoni also said that Dewald Brevis, the young South African batter, is making his CSK debut, replacing Rachin Ravindra. Also, Deepak Hooda is in, replacing Vijay Shankar.
“Dew was the main reason why we also wanted to bowl first. In almost all the departments, when you are not playing good cricket, chances are there will be pressure on the other guys as well. We want to get the process right and that is what we are looking to aim for the rest of the games. We are looking at one game at a time and we are looking at a few combinations and have confidence in your ability and execute what you want to. We are not too sure how the wicket is. The groundsmen are trying their level best, I feel the old red soil wicket was a good one, the one before the 2010 Champions League T20,” said Dhoni.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Aniket Verma, Kamindu Mendis, Pat Cummins(c), Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari, Mohammed Shami
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Shaik Rasheed, Ayush Mhatre, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni(w/c), Deepak Hooda, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana.
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