Venue: DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai
Time: 3:30 PM IST
Average score at venue (1st inns): 169
Win percentage while batting first: 40%
Pitch conditions:
- The batsmen should enjoy their time out at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai where the pitch has remained conducive for batting but local conditions might prove to be challenging.
- The venue has so far witnessed both, high-scoring and low-scoring games but 3 out of 5 matches here have been won by teams batting second.
- Fast bowlers have been able to take 65% of the wickets that have fallen here at this ground while the remaining 35% have gone in the kitty of the spin bowlers.
Weather prediction:
The morning hours on Saturday in Navi Mumbai will witness cloudy skies but it will all get cleared up as the day grows bigger. The temperature will be at a high of 35ºC sometime in early afternoon, which will keep slipping down — but not drastically — for the 3:30PM start for the Chennai versus Hyderabad contest. The humidity levels will be in excess of 50%.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD (overall):
Matches played: 16
Chennai won: 12
Hyderabad won: 4
No result: -
Top 3 players from Chennai: Shivam Dube, Robin Uthappa, M Dhonii
Top 3 players from Hyderabad: Washington Sundar, Rahul Tripathi, Nicholas Pooran
Top picks for H2H/WTA contest (top 5 players each):
Top 5 players from Chennai: Shivam Dube, Robin Uthappa, M Dhonii, Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali
Top 5 players from Hyderabad: Washington Sundar, Rahul Tripathi, Nicholas Pooran, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kane Williamson
Q & A:
Fantasy tips and tricks: Should I pick more bowlers, batsmen or all-rounders?
The pitch at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai has shown signs of support for all parties involved, provided they do their bit. While it has largely been conducive for batting, local conditions of hot and humid weather may prove to be a hindrance. In the last contest played here on Thursday night, Delhi were made to work hard as they could only make 149/3 while Lucknow also did not have a walk in the park — their victory was completed when only two balls were left in the match. For this contest, adding more to the fantasy cricket batting line-up will be a right approach, along with carrying bowlers who can contain effectively.
Fantasy tips and tricks: Should I pick more bowlers, batsmen or all-rounders?
For the contest between two teams who have been far from their best in the ongoing Indian T20 Cricket League 2022 tournament, a safety-first approach of carrying in-form batsmen and bowlers who can do the job of containment to a strong effect will be the right way to go about. Both Chennai and Hyderabad are yet to record a win and that will change on Friday night, provided they come up with better execution of plans and remain open to last-minute changes. Adding more to the batting line-up and preferring fast bowlers more over spinners will be the right approach here for the match on Saturday afternoon.
Fantasy tips: From which team should I pick more players in my XI? Which team is stronger?
Neither Chennai or Hyderabad have been able to record a win so far in this year’s Indian T20 Cricket League 2022. Together, they have lost 5 matches with Chennai losing 3 and Hyderbad losing the remaining 2 and they both are at the bottom of the points table, with the R Sharma-led Mumbai sandwiched between them at the 9th spot. Chennai have been far more competitive than Hyderabad, coming close to win in a couple of the matches that they lost. Chennai have a well-functioning batting unit but their concerns are with the bowling. On the other hand, after a listless show in the first match, Hyderabad were able to make amends but Chennai still remain the favourites and should have more players featuring in the fantasy cricket playing XI.
MORE INFORMATION: Chennai had neve lost first two games of any Indian T20 Cricket League edition before this season, which they have started off on the worst possible note of three consecutive losses. On the other hand, Hyderabad have lost 13 out of their 16 matches since the start of the previous edition in 2021. Chennai only need a few wins in their kitty to set the ball rolling for themselves, whereas Hyderabad have a lot of hard work left to do in order to be considered among the top teams once again, as the 2016 edition winners have largely been cutting sorry figures.
PLAYERS’ FORM: Ambati Rayudu has shown signs of form but he has not been able to translate it as well as the other senior middle-order batsman Robin Uthappa has. But Chennai will be concerned with their opening batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has been dismissed for 0, 1 and 1 in the three outings so far. Chennai will also be sweating over their bowling attack, which failed to defend 210 with dew factor decapitating them from their sting against Lucknow. On their part, Hyderabad will need more intent and organisation from their batsmen before their bowling attack gets spoken about.
Changes in squad (if any): NO
LIKELY XIs:
CHENNAI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja(capt), M Dhonii(wk), Shivam Dube, Dwayne Bravo, Chris Jordan, Dwaine Pretorius, Mukesh Choudhary.
HYDERABAD: Kane Williamson (capt), Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Aiden Markram, Abdul Samad, Romario Shepherd, Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik, T Natarajan.
FANTASY XI: Robin Uthappa (c), Kane Williamson, Rahul Tripathi, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube (vc), Nicholas Pooran, Ravindra Jadeja, M Dhonii (wk), Aiden Markram, Dwayne Bravo, Washington Sundar.
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Desperate Chennai draw inspiration from past history with Hyderabad
The Ravindra Jadeja-led Chennai side will draw a lot of confidence from their bilateral history against Hyderabad, with the two teams from down south set to clash in the Match No 17 of the Indian T20 Cricket League 2022 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Saturday afternoon.
Chennai have overall won 12 out of 16 matches against Hyderabad while also including 4 wins out of the last 5 matches these two teams have played.
In the ongoing edition of the world’s biggest T20 cricket league, the four-time title winners and defending champions Chennai have been able to make a mark for themselves albeit without a win — they have come close a couple of times in the last three matches but have ended up on the unwanted end.
For Chennai, the biggest concern would be the form of their star opening batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has totalled just 2 runs from 3 innings so far including a duck.
Ruturaj Gaikwad had a similar start to the 2021 edition before hitting peak form with the bat to end as one of the most successful batsmen in the tournament, but whether history repeats itself in this case is something that is yet to be seen.
That said, the biggest hope with the bat for Chennai is not just one particular batsman but the entire group which has been able
M Dhonii has chipped in with vital knocks and so has their new captain Ravindra Jadeja, while the responsibility of scoring the bulk of runs falls in the middle overs on the troika of Ambati Rayudu, Robin Uthappa and Moeen Ali.
Shivam Dube has been terrific with the bat for Chennai in the last two matches scoring 49 and 57 and the defending champions will hope that the lanky all-rounder continues with his form.
In the bowling department, Chennai need more from the likes of Dwayne Bravo, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, Mukesh Choudhary and even Ravindra Jadeja.
On the other hand, for Hyderabad to do any better than what they have done in the recent past, Kane Williamson will have to play the role of a glue that holds the batting line-up together in virtually every match. Hyderabad neither have the batting depth nor any batsmen that instill fear in the minds of the opposition bowlers.
At a time when teams are busy moving up the ladder and consolidating their positions in the 10-team tournament, Hyderabad are taking baby steps of getting the basics right and making small-sized but vital improvements in the way they approach their cricket.
While that kind of approach is not wrong, Hyderabad run the risk of losing out on crucial time in the league stage of the Indian T20 Cricket League 2022 when they should be determining their best players and combinations.
