IPL 2018: Final: CSK vs SRH Preview: Playing 11s, Timings, Live Streaming & More

Mumbai, May 26: Sunrisers Hyderabad managed to arrest a four-match losing streak to enter the IPL 2018 final beating Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on Friday (May 25). But now Hyderabad have Chennai Super Kings (CSK) standing between them and glory on Sunday (May 27) at the Wankhede Stadium here.

It could be a battle that may give you some edge-of-the seat moments considering the teams are almost equally matched up. Here, Mykhel looks gives you an all-round view of the situation going in to the match.

Head-to-head

The CSK and SRH have met each other three times in this edition of the IPL and the Super Kings hold a 3-0 record.

Captains' duel

Both MS Dhoni and Kane Williamson, the best two skippers of this IPL, are in fine fettle for CSK and SRH respectively. Williamson, the top run getter in this tournament, has led the team from the front and the only possible flaw seems to be his belief in Carlos Brathwaite as a death over bowler.

Brathwaite was taken to cleaners in the 18th over by Faf du Plessis in the IPL Qualifier 1 at Mumbai, an over that changed the course of the match. Despite that, the West Indian was give the final over against the Knight Riders in the Qualifier 2 and escaped a similar treatment despite bowling two really poor balls. But CSK with more experienced batsmen will not offer such a leeway.

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Dhoni, on the other hand, has not made such tactical errors and showed the wisdom to optimise the available resources. And he has only prospered as a batsman, especially in the familiar role of a finisher, in this tournament for the CSK.

The Wankhede pitch

Generally, the 22-yard trampoline here offers some assistance to the bowlers as was seen in the Qualifier 1 between CSK and SRH. Early on, it gives some help to the pacers and keeps the spinners interested because of its gripping nature in the later stages of the match.

"The process is more important" - Thala! Doing exactly that is the lions as they hit the nets today ahead of the Finals! #WhistlePodu #Yellove 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/jXFlHQoqvS

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) May 25, 2018

An all-out attack may not be the best way to collect runs here in a sustained manner, rather a more prudent approach will give you a par score - in the vicinity of 170-175 - but considering the dew and short boundaries here team winning toss could be eager to bowl first.

So, it may look like a chess game where teams waiting and looking for that one big opening but at times we can enjoy brain as well as brawn.

Impact Man

CSK: Ambati Rayudu: The right-hander has amassed 586 runs in 15 matches at a strike rate of over 153 and the finest aspect of Rayudu's batting has been his comfort in any stages of the match. As an opener, he gave CSK some fast starts, when his turn came to bat in the middle-order, he held the innings together and teed off at the death overs to give his team a strong finish. Rayudu has been Super Kings' batting 'all-rounder.'

SRH: Rashid Khan: The MVP of Sunrisers this season. The Afghan leg-spinner has taken 21 wickets from 16 matches - same as pacer Sidharth Kaul - and an exceptional rate of economy, 6.78, sets him apart from others. His googlies has been almost impossible for batsmen to pick and someone as experienced as Dhoni was deceived in the Qualifier 1.

He did it with his bat in the 1st innings and followed it up with his bowling and awesome fielding in the 2nd innings to win the much deserved Man of The Match award. Congratulations to @rashidkhan_19 as we get set to bring the cup back home #IPL2018#SRHvKKR #IPL2018Playoffs pic.twitter.com/mA6xZ9jhWH

— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) May 25, 2018

Rashid has also chipped in with the bat on occasions - his unbeaten, match-turning cameo against the Knight Riders on Friday is a prime example. And the 19-year-old is a livewire on the field too, tracking the ball and taking some outstanding catches. His effort against CSK will have a crucial place in the title clash.

Teams (From): Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Capt), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Faf Du Plessis, Harbhajan Singh, Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayadu, Deepak Chahar, K M Asif, Kanish Seth, Lungi Ngidi, Dhruv Shorey, Murali Vijay, Sam Billings, Mark Wood, Kshtiz Sharma, Monu Kumar, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur, N agadeesan, David Willy.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kane Williamson (Capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Manish Pandey, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Wriddhiman Saha, Siddharth Kaul, Deepak Hooda, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Shreevats Goswami, Ricky Bhui, Basil Thampi, T Natarajan, Sachin Baby, Bipul Sharma, Mehdi Hasan, Tanmay Agarwal, Alex Hales, Carlos Brathwaite, Rashid Khan, Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Nabi and Chris Jordan.

MATCH LIVE ON STAR SPORTS FROM 7 PM