Sunrisers Hyderabad have won five of their first eight matches this season, thanks to a combination of youth and experience. Sunrisers begin as favourites against a struggling Chennai Super Kings in the southern derby at MCA Stadium on Sunday, as they try to stay in the top four.

Sunrisers have one of the most threatening pace assaults in the IPL with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik, Marco Jansen, and T Natarajan, with Washington Sundar filling in as the lone specialist spinner. These pacers have claimed 45 of the team’s 57 wickets this season, with Natarajan and Malik each taking 15 wickets. It’s no surprise that they have the highest bowling average in the IPL this season.

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In terms of batting, unlike previous seasons, there is no power batter at the top of the order like Jonny Bairstow or David Warner. However, the batting of the Sunrisers has been boosted by the likes of Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, and Abhishek Sharma. Only skipper Kane Williamson’s dismal batting form would be cause for concern as the tournament enters the second half – he has scored 148 runs from eight matches, averaging just 21.14.

The Super Kings, on the other hand, are dealing with crucial player injuries – Moeen Ali was the most recent entrant to this list after they lost pacers Deepak Chahar and Adam Milne – and team balance. They are second from the bottom with two victories from eight matches and are hanging by a thread in the playoff qualification race.

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With opener Ruturaj Gaikwad unable to get going, Super Kings will rely on Shivam Dube and Robin Uthappa to go back to their best in the batting department. Both batsmen had two half-centuries and had scored 401 runs between them in the first five matches. Dube and Uthappa, on the other hand, scored 40 and 34 runs in the last three matches, respectively. Despite their batting depth, the Super Kings would need someone to bat deep into innings rather than relying on MS Dhoni for pyrotechnics at the finish if they are to climb the ladder.

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To their relief, the Super Kings’ powerplay bowling has improved. After taking just two powerplay wickets in the first four matches, left-arm pacer Mukesh Choudhary and Sri Lankan spinner Maheesh Theekshana each took five in the subsequent four. Dwayne Bravo leads the offence with 14 wickets in eight games. However, for a miracle turnaround, the bowling unit as a whole must be steady and economical – except from Mitchell Santner and Theekshana, the rest of the bowlers have given more than eight runs per over.

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Will the sun rise for Super Kings in the second half of the IPL 2022 with Dhoni back as captain?

After missing a few games owing to a finger injury, Washington Sundar returned to the Sunrisers XI in their latest match against Gujarat Titans. Both sides are unlikely to make any alterations to their starting lineups.

Likely XIs

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kane Williamson (capt), Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Shashank Singh, Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Marco Jansen, Umran Malik, T Natarajan

Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Mitchell Santner, Dwaine Pretorius, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary