The Indian Premier League continues on Saturday with a double header of action which begins at the DY Patil Stadium as two winless sides battle it out when the Chennai Super Kings take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The Super Kings have stumbled out of the starting blocks in their title defence and will look to spark some life into it here. The Sunrisers have been no better and they too will be looking for something they can take forward with them.
Chennai Super Kings
I think if you had said to the Chennai Super Kings at the beginning of the season that they would lose their first three matches they would have given you a funny look. This is a team who know all about winning this tournament but starting the competition this slowly is something that is completely new and it will be interesting to see how they react to the position they are in. We often see successful teams who start slowly panic and start chopping and changing the side and throwing plans out of the window. That is the last thing the Super Kings need to do.
To be fair, Chennai haven’t exactly been a disaster even though they have lost their opening three matches. They have been competitive in the main. They were edged out in a high scoring match in their second game but were made to pay for their top order getting blown away in the other two. That is where the improvement needs to come from them but you would imagine it will only be a matter of time until the likes of Moeen Ali and Ambati Rayudu come to the party which should sort out a number of their concerns.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
After a dismal campaign last term the last thing the Sunrisers Hyderabad could afford was for a poor start to this season. They really didn’t need it not just because it follows on from that poor showing last term but also because they lost a lot of talent between last season and this one so they needed to hit the ground running to put the doubters to one side. That hasn’t happened and the longer they go without winning the worse it is going to get for them.
The Sunrisers have played a match less than their opponents here so they aren’t in quite as much trouble but they have put in two abject performances and have to improve quickly. To me their batting doesn’t look nearly good enough and if they don’t take early wickets with the ball you wonder what they have in their locker to restrict sides. It is not a good combination. Kane Williamson was always going to take time to find form after so long out injured so there isn’t much to like about the Sunrisers at present.
Key Players
Moeen Ali is someone who can hit a clean ball and if the Sunrisers open up with a spinner then he could be the man to blow those plans out of the water. He is also capable of keeping things tight with the ball as well so he’s key for the Chennai Super Kings.
Nicholas Pooran hasn’t really delivered the fireworks that were expected of him when he was recruited ahead of this season. This would be a good time to do it to ease the pressure on a batting unit which looks a little on the light side.
Betting
Both these teams are struggling with the bat so it will be interesting to see if something gives here. I don’t think we are at the stage where teams will be looking to bring other players in and search for the right personnel but we’re probably not too far away from that happening if history is anything to go by. As it is I’m going to back both the top orders to continue to struggle and if that is the case I’m not convinced that a run line of 337.5 is within reach.
Even if one of these two teams finds some form there is no guarantee the other will chase it down. Sunrisers have already conceded 200 this season and got nowhere near their total while Chennai surrendered 180 last time out and lost tamely. Scoreboard pressure could very well be a thing in this match but there are no guarantees that the team batting first will post 170 anyway. That is the score that is needed for the chasing team to have a chance of busting the under but in five innings between the two only once have they scored more than 157. I think the run line is too high here.
Tips
Back Under 337.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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