In another thrilling encounter of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium will host the tournament's 27th match on Saturday, April 18, to be played between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Sunrisers Hyderabad will head into this match on the back of a magnificent victory against Rajasthan Royals in their previous outing. In that last game, they were without the services of Jaydev Unadkat and Harshal Patel; however, Prafull Hinge and Sakib Hussain stole the show that night, with both debutants claiming four wickets each. SRH will be expecting a similar performance from their team against CSK as well.
Although the Chennai Super Kings had a disappointing start, they have staged a tremendous comeback in their last few matches, securing four crucial points on the points table. Now, after five matches, they have two wins to their name; however, the road ahead is going to be quite challenging for them. Meanwhile, MS Dhoni is still not fully fit, and fans will have to wait a little longer for his return to the field.
SRH vs CSK Head to Head Record
| Matches Played | 22 |
|---|---|
| Won by SRH | 07 |
| Won by CSK | 15 |
| First Match | April 25, 2013 (CSK Won) |
| Most Recent Match | April 25, 2025 (SRH Won) |
SRH vs CSK Playing 11 & Impact Players
SRH Possible Playing 11: 1. Travis Head, 2. Abhishek Sharma, 3. Ishan Kishan(WK)(C), 4. Heinrich Klaasen(WK), 5. Nitish Kumar Reddy, 6. Salil Arora(WK), 7. Aniket Verma, 8. Harsh Dubey, 9. Shivang Kumar, 10. Praful Hinge, 11. Eshan Malinga
SRH Impact Players: Sakib Hussain, Liam Livingstone, Smaran-R, Jaydev Unadkat, Shivam Mavi
CSK Possible Playing 11: 1. Ruturaj Gaikwad(C), 2. Sanju Samson(WK), 3. Ayush Mhatre, 4. Dewald Brevis, 5. Sarfaraz Khan, 6. Shivam Dube, 7. Jamie Overton, 8. Noor Ahmad, 9. Gurjapneet Singh, 10. Anshul Kamboj, 11. Akeal Hosein
CSK Impact Players: Prashant Veer, Kartik Sharma, Matthew Short, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar
SRH vs CSK Player Stats
- Heinrich Klaasen (SRH): 224 runs (ranks in the top 3 in the Orange Cap race).
- Ishan Kishan (SRH): Scored 91 runs in the previous match and is in excellent form.
- Sanju Samson (CSK): Scored his first century (115*) in the yellow jersey in the very last match.
- Noor Ahmad (CSK): Took 3/21 in the previous match and could pose a threat to SRH's middle order.
- Saqib Hussain (SRH): A debutant fast bowler who took 4 wickets in the previous match.
SRH vs CSK Pitch Report
Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium offers a pitch that is conducive to batsmen; however, the previous match played here between SRH and RR demonstrates that bowlers, too, can dominate this ground by maintaining a precise line and length. Since any total can be chased down at this venue, winning the toss and opting to field first is considered the better option here.
SRH vs CSK Probable Best Performers
Sanju Samson
Star cricketer Sanju Samson has regained his old rhythm, and his magnificent form has continued ever since he scored a century against the Delhi Capitals—a feat that also marked the first century of the IPL 2026 season. Subsequently, he put on a brilliant batting display against KKR as well; although he narrowly missed out on a half-century, he did more than enough to provide his team with a blistering start. CSK will be hoping that Samson hits top form right from the start of the match and sets the field ablaze with his explosive batting.
Harsh Dubey
One of the most underappreciated bowlers of this season has been SRH's left-arm orthodox spinner, Harsh Dubey. Barring an expensive spell against the Royals, Harsh has bowled at an extremely economical rate. Since the CSK team is known to struggle against left-arm spin, Ishan Kishan will likely want to hand the ball to this Pune-born bowler as early as possible; this would exert pressure on the scoring rate and could ultimately yield crucial wickets.
Also Read: Will MS Dhoni Play Against SRH in IPL 2026? MS Dhoni Injury Update
