Having unveiled two exciting pace prospects in Praful Hinge and Sakib Husain, a well-rounded Sunrisers Hyderabad head into their IPL clash against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday with renewed belief. Brought in for experienced campaigners Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat, the uncapped pair made an immediate impact, rattling the Rajasthan Royals to 9 for 5 inside the first three overs and handing them their first defeat of the season. The 24-year-old Vidarbha pacer Hinge stole the spotlight, dismantling the Royalsโ top order featuring Dhruv Jurel, Lhuan-dre Pretorius and skipper Riyan Parag in a fiery opening spell, finishing with figures of 4/34. Extracting sharp bounce from a back-of-a-length, he proved difficult to handle, while Husain, a relatively unknown 21-year-old from Bihar previously overlooked by Kolkata Knight Riders, complemented him impressively on debut.
The rise of the young duo has significantly strengthened SRHโs pace attackโonce a weak pointโand added balance to a side already brimming with batting firepower in Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen. Riding high on their breakout performances, Hinge and Husain will now aim to test CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has struggled for runs this season, with a highest score of just 28 in five innings. There is, however, some respite for CSK with Sanju Samson regaining his touch, smashing an unbeaten century against the Delhi Capitals and following it up with a 48 against KKR.
With Gaikwad out of form, CSK may look to shuffle their batting order, possibly promoting youngster Ayush Mhatre, who has impressed with two fifties in his last four innings. After a shaky start marked by three consecutive losses, the five-time championsโstill without MS Dhoni, who is expected to return in the next game in Mumbaiโhave bounced back with two wins on the trot. However, their bowling unit has been dented by the absence of left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed, who has been ruled out for the season with a quadriceps injury sustained against KKR. Already missing Dhoni and Nathan Ellis, CSK will need to reshuffle their pace attack. Mukesh Choudhary could step in as a new-ball option, while Ramakrishna Ghosh is another alternative.