Amol Karhadkar
PUNE
It may have entered the Indian Premier League’s 2022 edition as defending champion, but for a better part of its campaign so far, Chennai Super Kings has hardly shown any signs of being a champion outfit.
Super Kings are languishing towards the bottom of the table with just two wins from eight games so far. With M.S. Dhoni back at the helm after Ravindra Jadeja relinquished the captaincy on Saturday, the team will definitely know that time is fast running out as it takes on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Maharashtra Cricket Association’s International Stadium on Sunday night.
Besides a misfiring top-order, lack of wicket-taking bowlers has haunted the Super Kings so far.
It will be interesting to see if Matheesha Pathirana, the slinging pacer from Sri Lanka, is handed a debut during the south-Indian derby.
Super Kings will also be looking forward to Ruturaj Gaikwad and Mukesh Choudhary to put up an inspiring performance on their home ground.
While opener Gaikwad has had a largely quiet season, left-arm pacer Mukesh has been one of the bright spots in Super Kings’ campaign.
Best pace quarter
While Super Kings will be looking forward to unleashing their firepower against the best pace quartet of the tournament, Sunrisers will be hoping to bounce back after a disappointing loss to Gujarat Titans in its last outing.
Kane Williamson & Co. couldn’t have asked for a better opponent than CSK to resurrect its campaign. After all, on the back of two losses at the start of its campaign, it was the face-off against Super Kings that kick-started the Sunrisers’ five-match winning streak.
Can Kane Williamson’s men record another win against the Super Kings? Over to Sunday night!
