IPL 2025: CSK, SRH face off in a must-win clash for both teams

CHENNAI: After facing three successive defeats at home, Chennai Super Kings will be eager to get back to winning ways as it locks horns with an equally desperate Sunrisers Hyderabad in a key contest to keep both its playoff hopes alive at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday.

Both of them come into this game having lost four of its last five games and placed in bottom two places in the standings.

Even though the qualification chances are slim, they can still make it into the top four by winning all of their remaining fixtures with quite a big margin and hope that other teams blunder in their remaining games, tilting the table balance.

But while the results have been similar, the approaches couldn’t be more different.

CSK’s batting approach is more like a mutual fund. The idea? Let your batters at the top like Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, and other young Indians accumulate runs with calculated fours, and play proper shots. But in today’s Indian Premier League, that’s like checking your SIP returns every now and then while meme stocks are mooning — it’s just not enough in the limited span of time.

However, Gujarat Titans is yielding the desired returns with a similar approach with its opening pair of Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill, despite not being power hitters, taking their time and cashing in on later.

SRH, meanwhile, has taken the crypto trader route — all-in from ball one, chasing sky-high returns with fearless swings, but when the top order tanks, its whole innings crashes faster than a crypto coin on a Monday morning.

However, if CSK wants to regain its mojo at home, historically there is no better team to face than SRH as it has never lost to it in Chepauk. But history books have been thrown to the bin this season, particularly with CSK and its poor run at home, losing to opponents they usually dominated during home games.

The Super Kings have found themselves in unfamiliar territory while playing in home conditions. Even last time around, it posted its lowest-ever IPL total at home (103/9) against Kolkata Knight Riders.

But this time, they can be happy with the fierce debut of 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre against Mumbai Indians and the inclusion of South Africa’s Dewald Brevis to strengthen its power-hitting department.

With the likes of Shaik Rasheed and Mhatre placed at the top, it is a clear transition period for the five-time champion side, who will have its regular skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad back next season along with the 26-year-old Rachin Ravindra to make up the batting order.

But head coach Stephen Fleming believes the transition must be measured. “I’m a big fan of young talent, always have been. But if you look at the top 20 run-scorers this season, only one or two are youngsters,” he noted during the pre-match press conference.

“Mhatre had an opportunity in the last game and he looked very good. And that excites us as we have one eye to the future. But it's a balance. It’s not all about youth or all about experience. It’s somewhere in the middle—a mix of temperament, skill, and game awareness,” he added.