SRH vs CSK: Who will win tonight? Here's our match-preview
What's the story
Two best sides of 2018 season, Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad will battle it out in Qualifier 1 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. This tie will determine the first finalist of 2018 IPL. Both teams have 9 wins in the league phase but their last few games haven't been convincing enough. Who holds the edge tonight? Here's pre-match report.
Head-to-head
History clearly favors Chennai Super Kings
These two sides have met on 8 occasions in the past. Out of these 8 matches, Sunrisers Hyderabad have won just 2 as compared to 6 victories notched by the Chennai Super Kings. This season, as well, the Super Kings did the double against Sunrisers. CSK beat SRH by 4 runs in Hyderabad and then by 8 wickets in Pune.
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Sunrisers Hyderabad: Probable Playing XI
Shikhar Dhawan, Shreevats Goswami (wicket-keeper), Kane Williamson (captain), Manish Pandey, Alex Hales, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Rashid Khan and Sandeep Sharma.
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Chennai Super Kings: Probable Playing XI
Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (captain and wicket-keeper), Sam Billings, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar and Lungi Ngidi.
Bat vs Ball
Best batting side up against the best bowling side
Chennai Supers Kings have been the best batting unit in 2018 IPL with the highest average of 37.13 per wicket. The Super Kings have scored at a rate of 9.03. On the other hand, Sunrisers Hyderabad's bowlers have been in a different dimension. They have bowled at an economy of 8.19. Further, they have been second best in terms of average runs/wicket at 25.50.
Interesting face-offs
Red-hot Rayudu is a cause of concern for SRH
Ambati Rayudu has been sensational this season. The right-handed batsman is currently on a purple patch, having scored 586 runs this season. Against SRH, Rayudu has scored 385 runs at an average of 55 and a strike-rate of 134 in 9 innings. Dhoni vs Bhuvi is another interesting battle. Dhoni has scored 87 runs of Bhuvi at a strike-rate of 185.10 without being dismissed.
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How to pick the winning Dream XI?
Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu (vice-captain), Suresh Raina, Kane Williamson (captain), MS Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Shakib Al Hasan, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Siddarth Kaul and Lungi Ngidi.