Hyderabad, India

On Friday (April 5), the action continues in the IPL 2024 edition as Pat Cummins-led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will host the Chennai Super Kings, in match 18, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. While SRH are coming into this game on the back of a seven-wicket loss to Gujarat Titans (GT), Chennai also lost their first game of the season -- after two successive wins -- when they faced Delhi Capitals (DC) in Visakhapatnam.

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Ruturaj Gaikwad-led CSK opened their campaign in style by beating Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the season-opener by six wickets. They went onto beat GT at home as well, by 63 runs but lost to Delhi by 20 runs in their first game on the road. SRH, on the other hand, have entertained with much-improved batting performances, thriving on intent and a lot of freedom to express from the word go, but will need more consistency now. They lost a thriller to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), chasing over 220, and beat Mumbai Indians (MI) after posting the highest-ever team score in IPL; i.e. 277/3. However, they fell flat versus Gujarat in a moderate-scoring encounter. 

Also read: IPL 2024 smashes broadcast records with 350mn TV viewership in first 10 matches

Match preview and result prediction: Both teams will have to contend with a black soil pitch, hence, hitting through the line won't be easy for the batters. While it can be expected that this might not be a high-scorer, SRH head coach Daniel Vettori has not ruled it out completely. Still, expect a 170-plus affair and chasing might not be easy this evening.

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CSK have a solid record versus Hyderabad, leading 14-5 in head-to-head battle, hence, they start as favourites but one can certainly not rule out Cummins & Co.