SRH vs DC Match Preview, IPL 2021: Chepauk Slug-Fest Awaits Sunrisers Hyderabad And Delhi Capitals

It has been a track where no team would be interested to play. Chepauk pitch was termed as ‘shocking’ by a winning captain recently and batters have generally struggled on the sluggish surface. But in some relief, the ordeal is soon going to end when Chennai gears up to host its 10th and final match of IPL 2021 with Sunrisers Hyderabad taking on Delhi Capitals.

With only a couple of first innings total in excess of 170 across nine games here, the slow and gripping surface at the MA Chidambaram Stadium tests the skills of the batsmen in a different manner.

Sunrisers Hyderabad 

SRH, after playing all their four games in Chennai, have only now started to crack the code of the slow track, evident during the team’s comfortable victory over Punjab Kings after a hat-trick of defeats.

With Kane Williamson back in the mix, Sunrisers seemed to have got a better balance in a set-up which is acutely short of quality India internationals.

With T Natarajan’s death bowling unavailable for this season and Manish Pandey only able to manage a strike-rate of 112 odd, bulk of the responsibility is on overseas recruits Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Williamson and Rashid.

The wily Rashid Khan has again been very consistent and his duel with Rishabh Pant could be one of the most eagerly-awaited match-ups that can send the TRPs soaring.

SRH’s weak link is certainly its bowling attack with none among Sandeep Sharma, Siddharth Kaul or allrounder Vijay Shankar inspiring any sort of confidence whatsoever.

How Trevor Bayliss and VVS Laxman set up the batting order will be important. Kedar Jadhav is well past his prime but still could be way more effective than any of the youngsters, who haven’t delivered this season.

Delhi Capitals

Pant’s brute power will be put to test against Rashid’s bagful of tricks where DC start as favourites due to better bowling resources.

Possibly, it’s the ability to muscle the ball that will come in handy on this track and hence the DC skipper’s role as a batsman will become all the more important.

While Shikhar Dhawan is in good form and Prithvi Shaw in not so great touch after the first game, the willow-wielders, who depend on sheer timing compared to power may struggle.

So DC will have 12 overs out of 20 on which they can feast upon if one takes away the eight bowled by Rashid and the seasoned Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

One area of slight concern will be Ashwin’s form as he has been going at 8 runs per over in the past four games and only a single wicket to show for his efforts.

The Chepauk track could just give him some breathing space after mostly flat decks in Mumbai. Similarly, Pant would also like to check out if Chris Woakes is a better option with his pace and also some all-round skills in place of Kagiso Rabada, who has been off colour till now.

Veterans Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma, however cruel it may seem, are expected to warm the benches unless both Lalit Yadav and Avesh Khan sustain a last-minute niggle.

WHEN: 25th April, 7:30 PM IST

WHERE: Chennai, India

TELECAST: Star Sports

LIVE STREAMING: Hotstar

SRH Team News

They have finally recorded a win. Will Warner want to tweak the combination? Abdul Samad didn’t play their previous encounter after pulling a hamstring. With the middle-order wearing a more solid look as Williamson is back, SRH will want to add some firepower. Manish Pandey hasn’t been able to dominate the bowlers and seems to have been dropped because of that. Should Samad regain fitness, he may return but replace whom? Virat Singh? In two matches this season, he has batted just once and managed 11.

Probable 11: David Warner (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey/Virat Singh/Abdul Samad, Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, Kedar Jadhav, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Siddarth Kaul/Shahbaz Nadeem

DC Team News

They may refrain from making any changes.

Probable 11: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Steven Smith, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Lalit Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan

Recent Head-to-Head: (Last 5 matches)

DC lead the recent head to head 3-2.

#DC won by 17 runs

#SRH won by 88 runs

#SRH won by 15 runs

#DC won by 2 wickets

#DC won by 39 runs

With PTI inputs

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• Delhi Capitals
• IPL 2021
• sunrisers hyderabad