Indian Premier League 2026 - 27th Match
SRH
0/0
vs
CSK
0/0
Match starts at Apr 18, 14:00 GMT
won the toss and chose to
Commentary
Preview by Aayush Puthran
Stephen Fleming, the head coach of Chennai Super Kings, needed some evidence; proof that his team, the five-time champions, were still good enough to compete in the Indian Premier League; that the old think-tank had assembled a side fit enough, with strategies still sharp, to keep pace with the new demands of T20 cricket.
Stubborn denials have followed dejected admissions. Amidst the desperation, two wins in the last two games, have provided Fleming that assurance - and his team the confidence - that they are in it, even if far from the threatening legacy that they carry. At least it's not fully collapsing.
It has taken its time.
Fortunately for CSK, they aren't the only team that have lacked the sting this season. Nearly three weeks into IPL 2026, they are merely one out of five teams in the competition that has worn a jaded look. Another among them is Sunrisers Hyderabad - their opponent for the Saturday night face-off - whose promise of advancing T20 cricket has repeatedly backfired.
For as insipid as the two teams have looked for most parts of these three weeks, both have respectively picked some pace in their campaigns leading up to their weekend encounter: a debutant duo-inspired victory against the till-then unbeaten Rajasthan Royals for SRH, and two back-to-back wins for CSK.
These victories have partly revitalised their campaigns and given enough hope that they are far from being outpaced despite the early rustiness. SRH find themselves in the top-four, and CSK sit with just as many wins as four other teams on the leaderboard.
Their recent wins notwithstanding, both teams have been blighted by injuries and scratchy form in key departments, and look far from settled. However, while multiple of their players have been ruled out due to injuries, it's not necessarily the worst thing to happen to them. It has given them an opportunity to not pretend to be finished products and look for early fixes to the weaknesses in their respective line-ups.
Reinforcements are coming, but there is also the absence of key leaders - Pat Cummins and MS Dhoni - that's possibly left them without adequate direction. The veterans are working their way to full fitness, hoping to bring some order and comfort, maybe even some spine and some swagger, but there is still some time before they turn up on match-day.
As the two teams await the return of the big figures to give a more convincing direction to their respective campaigns, they would hope to set the ball rolling, playing without the fear of safety nets and yet showcase the maturity of being new leaders, like many new faces across teams have. The Saturday night encounter in Hyderabad promises that stage to them; but who will give the evidence of the promise they carry - not individually, but as a XII that screams the promise on paper?
When: Saturday, April 18, 2026, 7:30 PM IST
Where: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Chennai Super Kings, Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
What to expect: The contest will take place on the same pitch where SRH played Rajasthan Royals on Monday, reducing the visitors to 9 for 5 at one stage before ending up with a 57-run win. However, Daniel Vettori is expecting the surface to play a bit differently due to the excessive heat in the city over the past few days. Nonetheless, expect yet another high-scoring encounter.
Head-to-head: Historically, CSK have dominated this south-east derby, with a 15-7 win record, but in Hyderabad, SRH have held a 3-2 edge. Moreover, since 2023, both teams have won two games each against each other.
Team News:
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Injuries/Unavailability: Brydon Carse and David Payne have been ruled out of the season while Dilshan Madushanka has been roped in as the former's replacement. Meanwhile, Pat Cummins was expected to reach Hyderabad on Friday, but he won't be available for the game against CSK.
Tactics & Matchups: Sanju Samson, CSK's in-form batter, has enjoyed tremendous success in T20s in Hyderabad - averaging 53.90 at a strike rate of 164.26 from 13 T20 games at the venue. However, there is one bowler in SRH's ranks who has troubled him repeatedly - Shivam Mavi. The seamer may have not found chances so far, but he has dismissed Samson five times in a 25-ball face-off. It would be interesting to see if SRH would be willing to punt on him, especially since head coach Daniel Vettori has hinted at possible changes to the side despite the win in the previous match.
Probable XII: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (c), Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Reddy, Aniket Verma, Salil Arora (wk), Harsh Dubey/Liam Livingstone, Shivang Kumar, Praful Hinge, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain
Chennai Super Kings
Injuries/Unavailability: MS Dhoni did enjoy a light session of foot volleyball with Sanju Samson, Sarfaraz Khan and a few of the support staff during CSK's practise hours on Friday evening. Towards the end of the session, as all the players wrapped up and left, Dhoni came on to bat against the side-armers, smoking several huge sixes. When pressed for an answer on his availability for Saturday's game, Stephen Fleming didn't reveal the details, The coach's response was limited to, "He is progressing well." Meanwhile, Khaleel Ahmed won't be available since he has been ruled out of the tournament while Spencer Johnson is yet to join the squad.
Tactics & Matchups: For Fleming, the big threat against SRH is their top-order. "One of the key components of tomorrow [will be] how we deal with the Hyderabad top order, because they can take the game away from you very quickly," he said. In that pursuit, CSK may look to bring back Matt Short into the side to counter the three left-handers in SRH's top-order with the Australian's offspin. The offie had an extensive session in the nets with targeted pitching on Friday, even though he repeatedly erred with his lengths. He then followed up with a batting session against legspin - both left and right-arm.
Probable XII: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Matthew Short, Jamie Overton/Matt Henry, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary
Did you know?
Among the openers who batted at least thrice in IPL 2026, Ruturaj Gaikwad has the lowest aggregate (63 runs), average (12.60), and strike rate (105).
Abhishek Sharma has registered seven ducks in 2026 - the most by an Indian batter in a calendar year in T20 cricket
CSK have dropped nine catches this season so far - the most by a side - and their catch success percentage of 70 is the worst for a team.
What they said:
"To get one against the tide, with a really impressive Rajasthan team, and to get a couple of guys on their debut to do so well puts a positive feel within the group. Now it's a chance to maintain that against a CSK team on the back of two wins in a row" - Daniel Vettori, Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach
"To get two in a row is great. But we've still got a lot of work to do, we know that, and this is a tough fixture for us. We've had some tough battles and tough games here in the last few years, so we know we're going to have to be at our best again" - [/b]Stephen Fleming[/b], Chennai Super Kings head coach
Stephen Fleming, the head coach of Chennai Super Kings, needed some evidence; proof that his team, the five-time champions, were still good enough to compete in the Indian Premier League; that the old think-tank had assembled a side fit enough, with strategies still sharp, to keep pace with the new demands of T20 cricket.
Stubborn denials have followed dejected admissions. Amidst the desperation, two wins in the last two games, have provided Fleming that assurance - and his team the confidence - that they are in it, even if far from the threatening legacy that they carry. At least it's not fully collapsing.
It has taken its time.
Fortunately for CSK, they aren't the only team that have lacked the sting this season. Nearly three weeks into IPL 2026, they are merely one out of five teams in the competition that has worn a jaded look. Another among them is Sunrisers Hyderabad - their opponent for the Saturday night face-off - whose promise of advancing T20 cricket has repeatedly backfired.
For as insipid as the two teams have looked for most parts of these three weeks, both have respectively picked some pace in their campaigns leading up to their weekend encounter: a debutant duo-inspired victory against the till-then unbeaten Rajasthan Royals for SRH, and two back-to-back wins for CSK.
These victories have partly revitalised their campaigns and given enough hope that they are far from being outpaced despite the early rustiness. SRH find themselves in the top-four, and CSK sit with just as many wins as four other teams on the leaderboard.
Their recent wins notwithstanding, both teams have been blighted by injuries and scratchy form in key departments, and look far from settled. However, while multiple of their players have been ruled out due to injuries, it's not necessarily the worst thing to happen to them. It has given them an opportunity to not pretend to be finished products and look for early fixes to the weaknesses in their respective line-ups.
Reinforcements are coming, but there is also the absence of key leaders - Pat Cummins and MS Dhoni - that's possibly left them without adequate direction. The veterans are working their way to full fitness, hoping to bring some order and comfort, maybe even some spine and some swagger, but there is still some time before they turn up on match-day.
As the two teams await the return of the big figures to give a more convincing direction to their respective campaigns, they would hope to set the ball rolling, playing without the fear of safety nets and yet showcase the maturity of being new leaders, like many new faces across teams have. The Saturday night encounter in Hyderabad promises that stage to them; but who will give the evidence of the promise they carry - not individually, but as a XII that screams the promise on paper?
When: Saturday, April 18, 2026, 7:30 PM IST
Where: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Chennai Super Kings, Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
What to expect: The contest will take place on the same pitch where SRH played Rajasthan Royals on Monday, reducing the visitors to 9 for 5 at one stage before ending up with a 57-run win. However, Daniel Vettori is expecting the surface to play a bit differently due to the excessive heat in the city over the past few days. Nonetheless, expect yet another high-scoring encounter.
Head-to-head: Historically, CSK have dominated this south-east derby, with a 15-7 win record, but in Hyderabad, SRH have held a 3-2 edge. Moreover, since 2023, both teams have won two games each against each other.
Team News:
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Injuries/Unavailability: Brydon Carse and David Payne have been ruled out of the season while Dilshan Madushanka has been roped in as the former's replacement. Meanwhile, Pat Cummins was expected to reach Hyderabad on Friday, but he won't be available for the game against CSK.
Tactics & Matchups: Sanju Samson, CSK's in-form batter, has enjoyed tremendous success in T20s in Hyderabad - averaging 53.90 at a strike rate of 164.26 from 13 T20 games at the venue. However, there is one bowler in SRH's ranks who has troubled him repeatedly - Shivam Mavi. The seamer may have not found chances so far, but he has dismissed Samson five times in a 25-ball face-off. It would be interesting to see if SRH would be willing to punt on him, especially since head coach Daniel Vettori has hinted at possible changes to the side despite the win in the previous match.
Probable XII: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (c), Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Reddy, Aniket Verma, Salil Arora (wk), Harsh Dubey/Liam Livingstone, Shivang Kumar, Praful Hinge, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain
Chennai Super Kings
Injuries/Unavailability: MS Dhoni did enjoy a light session of foot volleyball with Sanju Samson, Sarfaraz Khan and a few of the support staff during CSK's practise hours on Friday evening. Towards the end of the session, as all the players wrapped up and left, Dhoni came on to bat against the side-armers, smoking several huge sixes. When pressed for an answer on his availability for Saturday's game, Stephen Fleming didn't reveal the details, The coach's response was limited to, "He is progressing well." Meanwhile, Khaleel Ahmed won't be available since he has been ruled out of the tournament while Spencer Johnson is yet to join the squad.
Tactics & Matchups: For Fleming, the big threat against SRH is their top-order. "One of the key components of tomorrow [will be] how we deal with the Hyderabad top order, because they can take the game away from you very quickly," he said. In that pursuit, CSK may look to bring back Matt Short into the side to counter the three left-handers in SRH's top-order with the Australian's offspin. The offie had an extensive session in the nets with targeted pitching on Friday, even though he repeatedly erred with his lengths. He then followed up with a batting session against legspin - both left and right-arm.
Probable XII: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Matthew Short, Jamie Overton/Matt Henry, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary
Did you know?
Among the openers who batted at least thrice in IPL 2026, Ruturaj Gaikwad has the lowest aggregate (63 runs), average (12.60), and strike rate (105).
Abhishek Sharma has registered seven ducks in 2026 - the most by an Indian batter in a calendar year in T20 cricket
CSK have dropped nine catches this season so far - the most by a side - and their catch success percentage of 70 is the worst for a team.
What they said:
"To get one against the tide, with a really impressive Rajasthan team, and to get a couple of guys on their debut to do so well puts a positive feel within the group. Now it's a chance to maintain that against a CSK team on the back of two wins in a row" - Daniel Vettori, Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach
"To get two in a row is great. But we've still got a lot of work to do, we know that, and this is a tough fixture for us. We've had some tough battles and tough games here in the last few years, so we know we're going to have to be at our best again" - [/b]Stephen Fleming[/b], Chennai Super Kings head coach
Squads:
Chennai Super Kings Squad: Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Ayush Mhatre, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Dewald Brevis, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Matthew Short, Akeal Hosein, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Matt Henry, MS Dhoni, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Chahar, Spencer Johnson, Mukesh Choudhary, Urvil Patel, Aman Khan, Zakary Foulkes, Ramakrishna Ghosh
Sunrisers Hyderabad Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(c), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora(w), Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar, Praful Hinge, Eshan Malinga, Smaran Ravichandran, Sakib Hussain, Liam Livingstone, Shivam Mavi, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Kamindu Mendis, Zeeshan Ansari, Dilshan Madushanka, Krains Fuletra, Onkar Tarmale, Amit Kumar