Balanced SRH face resurgent Chennai Super Kings

Having unleashed two exciting pace prospects in Praful Hinge and Sakib Husain, a balanced Sunrisers Hyderabad will head into their IPL match against Chennai Super Kings with renewed confidence, here on Saturday.

Drafted in place of seasoned campaigners Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat, the uncapped duo made an instant impact, reducing Rajasthan Royals to 9 for 5 inside the first three overs, pushing them to their first loss of the season.

The 24-year-old Vidarbha pacer Hinge has been the standout bowler after dismantling the Royals’ top-order consisting of Dhruv Jurel, Lhuan-dre Pretorius and skipper Riyan Parag in his fiery first two overs. He finished with 4/34.

Generating bounce from a back-of-a-length spot, Hinge was impressive, while Husain, an unheralded 21-year-old from Bihar who was previously overlooked by Kolkata Knight Riders, complemented him well on debut.

Using clever variations in the middle overs, Husain also returned with four wickets as Rajasthan were bowled out for 159 while chasing 216.

The emergence of the young duo has lifted SRH’s pace attack, which had been a concern early in the season, and brought better balance to a side otherwise loaded with batting firepower in Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen.

Fresh from their breakout performances, Hinge and Husain will look to pile more pressure on CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has struggled for runs this season. His highest so far is 28 across five innings.

However, there is some relief for CSK with Sanju Samson rediscovering his T20 World Cup form, smashing an unbeaten century against Delhi Capitals and following it up with a 48 in their win over Kolkata Knight Riders.

With Gaikwad out of touch, CSK could consider pushing him down the order and promoting young Ayush Mhatre, who has impressed with two fifties in his last four innings.

After a poor start with three consecutive defeats, the five-time champions — still without MS Dhoni, who is expected to be fit for the next game in Mumbai — have bounced back with two successive wins.

However, their bowling resources have taken a hit with left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed ruled out of the season due to a quadriceps injury sustained in the win over KKR.

Already missing Dhoni and Nathan Ellis, CSK will need to reshuffle their pace attack, with Mukesh Choudhary emerging as a like-for-like new-ball option, while Ramakrishna Ghosh is also another alternative.

After losing three of their first four matches, SRH have bounced back in style at home, and the emergence of the young pace duo will further boost their confidence.

CSK too carry new-found momentum with back-to-back wins and will aim to restrategise following the loss of Khaleel and secure their first away victory of the season in a crucial mid-table contest.