QUALIFIER 1: HOW CHENNAI SUPER KINGS AND SUNRISERS HYDERABAD MATCH UP

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS STRENGTHS Watsonrayudu

One of the best opening combinations, the duo helped CSK finish second in the standings. They have scored 1000-plus runs and hit more than 50 sixes to force the opposition into submission.

Dhoni’s form

After struggling with the bat, Dhoni’s swagger is back and he has led CSK to thrilling wins when the chips have been down. He has hit some big hits to get the team out of trouble and post last-over wins.

Bravo show

Dwayne Bravo has been one of the inspirational performers for CSK with bat and ball. He has been Dhoni’s go-to man at the death and has played some key innings with the bat to guide them to victory.

WEAKNESSES Death bowling

Dhoni will be concerned about leaking runs. Lack of options at the death has seen him hand the ball to different bowlers as the event progressed. While Bravo has been consistent, others have struggled.

Middle order

Whenever Watson and Rayudu have got out early, the middle order hasn’t withstood pressure and left too much for Dhoni to do. Suresh Raina has done well in patches but his strike rate is below his career stats.

Spinners

CSK have proven performers in Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja, but they haven’t been among wickets. In a format where taking wickets is the key, CSK would hope they come to the fore.

SUNRISERS HYDERABAD STRENGTHS Rashid, the key

He has bowled 100-plus dot balls, and SRH will expect him to lead the charge again. They will hope the Afghan leggie makes early inroads into the Super Kings’ line-up to set the match up for them.

Top order

They will depend on Dhawan, Hales and Williamson to provide the launchpad. Every time Dhawan or Williamson have batted for long, Sunrisers have more often than not emerged victorious.

Varied attack

While the bowling has been up and down of late, SRH have the variety to trouble CSK batsmen. While Bhuvneshwar Kumar can be a handful, Siddharth Kaul and Sandeep Sharma have backed him well.

WEAKNESSES Middle order

Barring some matches, the middle order hasn’t performed when required. Manish Pandey has struggled, Yusuf Pathan can no longer hit it big consistently, and that has left SRH struggling in the death overs.

Poor fielding

Whether catching or stopping the ones and twos, Sunrisers lag behind the other teams, and that could prove costly if they repeat the mistakes in Qualifier 1 against Chennai Super Kings.

Death bowling

SRH have struggled to tighten screws at the death. With Rashid and Shakib economical in the middle overs, rivals have targeted the seamers and have been successful, especially at the death overs in recent games.