Chennai Super Kings will look to regain their mighty dominance in IPl this season when they face high-flying Sunrisers Hyderabad in Pune on Sunday.
Following their return to the tournament from a two-year ban, CSK started on a high, winning five of their first six games. However, they lost three of their last five matches.
Notably, on Friday they lost a close contest against Rajasthan Royals, which left their skipper MS Dhoni fuming at his bowlers during the post match ceremony.
Even though Jos Buttler's 60-ball 95 proved to be the difference in the end, Dhoni was unhappy with the line his bowlers were bowling on Friday night.
Infact throughout the tournament, bowling has been a concern for the Chennai outfit.
The likes of Imran Tahir, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh and Dwayne Bravo will be expected to do more with the ball.
Shardul Thakur has been decent with nine wickets from eight matches, while foreigner pacers David Willey and lungi Ngidi are expected to set the stage on fire.
Their batsmen have been on top notch throughout the tournament, virtually making up for their bowlers' below-par performances. Ambati Rayudu's exploits at the top has earned him an Indian recall. His opening partner Australian Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, skipper Dhoni and West Indian all-rounder Bravo are all in good form. Their batsmen have to maintain that level against the tournament's best bowling outfit - Sunrisers - on Sunday to put up a challenging total on board.
The Hyderabad outfit have been enjoying a dream campaign so far. Their bowlers have been running their show brilliantly till now. They have frequently defended low scores to clinch impressive victories.
The likes of Siddharth Kaul (13 wickets), Sandeep Sharma, leg spinner Rashid Khan (13) and Shakib-Al-Hasan (12) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been stupendous throughout the tournament.
The last match was a rare exception as Delhi Daredevils' Rishabh Pant took them to the cleaners with a scintillating knock of 128. However, Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson put together a brilliant partnership to take them over the line against Daredevils without much trouble.
Skipper Williamson (493 runs) has led the batting unit brilliantly this campaign and has delivered whenever the team needed him.