IPL Cricket preview: Hyderabad Vs Chennai IPL

Hyderabad Deccan chargers will play with Chennai Super Kings in a vital encounter at MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai. This is a must win game for last ranked Deccan Chargers while Chennai will try to cash on opposition’s poor form. But Chennai struggled in the recent matches after the exit of Hayden, Hussey and Oram.

Chennai should not underestimate a team who has match winners like Gilchrist, Gibbs and Rohit Sharma. But weak bowling is a big worry for visiting team. If Hyderabad wins the toss; it may elect to field and try to chase the Chennai total. Hyderabad lost previous match against Bangalore as their batsmen failed to hold their nerve at crucial time. They should not repeat similar mistake here.

Pitch: Good batting wicket.
Match timing: From 8 PM onwards.


Significance of match: Hyderabad knew it the fact that loss in this match is almost an end to their semi-final hopes.


Crucial players:

1. Rohit Sharma who scored 235 runs in six IPL matches and he is in scintillating form.
2. Adam Gilchrist and Gibbs for Hyderabad and Dhoni for Chennai can single handily change match course.
3. Muralidharan: Spin wizard needs to perform well against Hyderabad batting lineup.


Hyderabad failed to pick an ideal team even after playing 6 Twenty20 matches. Deccan Chargers are still struggling with selection problems and weak bowling attack. Their big hitters are letting them down with poor batting. Match winners like Gibbs and Shahid Afridi are struggling to reach even double digits. But batsmen like Adam Gilchrist (fastest century in IPL) can win matches on their own. Rohit Sharma is in sensational form and is the only contender from Hyderabad for IPL dream team.


Chennai Super Kings seems to have lost tempo after the exit of Jacob Oram, Mathew Hayden and Michael hussy. Their replacements failed to match those legends heroics. But batsmen like Dhoni and Suresh Raina may face no difficulties in facing weak Hyderabad bowling. Sohail Tanvir destroyed Chennai lineup but Hyderabad missed incisive bowlers like him. RP Singh failed to perform like his Indian teammates i.e. Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth, Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma.


Verdict: Match result will depend on how Hyderabad bowlers will perform in this match. I hope this match will give another surprise result to make IPL more interesting. Hyderabad needs to overcome its current tag “Least passionate team in IPL”.


My ideal Hyderabad team:

Openers: Adam Gilchrist and D. Ravi Teja.
Batsmen: VVS Laxman, Herschelle Gibbs, Rohit Sharma and Scott Styris.
All-Rounders: Shahid Afridi and Sanjay Bangar.
Bowlers: RP Singh, Pragyan Ojha and Vijay Kumar.

Hyderabad captain VVS Laxman needs to take courageous and innovative decisions to propel Hyderabad into Semi-finals of Indian Premier League. Hyderabad has talent at its disposal but missed inspiration and clear direction.