Shaik Rasheed and Ayush Mhatre are at the crease. Shaik Rasheed is on strike. Shami will open the attack

It's a sea of yellow here at Chepauk

Here are the Impact substitutes for both the teams:

Chennai Super Kings Impact Subs: Anshul Kamboj, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Jamie Overton

Sunrisers Hyderabad Impact Subs: Travis Head, Abhinav Manohar, Sachin Baby, Rahul Chahar, Wiaan Mulder

Teams:

Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Aniket Verma, Kamindu Mendis, Pat Cummins(c), Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari, Mohammed Shami

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Shaik Rasheed, Ayush Mhatre, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni(w/c), Deepak Hooda, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana

MS Dhoni: Dew was the main reason why we also wanted to bowl first

Pat Cummins: We gonna have a bowl first. Chennai is always a big game, coming off a couple of loses but it is a new venue and boys are up for it

Sunrisers Hyderabad have won the toss and have opted to field

CSK are already at the bottom of the table and loss will not help their case one bit

"Sam Curran has marked his run-up. Fleming and Vettori having chat by the pitch side. Good time to remember that both have spoken about RCB's last season playoff heist giving them hope," informms Pratyush. Shami having gentle bowls on the side wicket," he adds.

Pitch report: 70 metres on one side and 63 on the other side. 74 metres down the ground. Looks quite dry and very similar to what we have seen previously

18:37 local, 13:07 GMT, 18:37 IST: Hello and welcome to the Southern Derby.

Preview by Pratyush Sinha

The mood at Chepauk is a bit sombre. The sense of anticipation, typical of IPL venues on match eve, seems to be missing. There's a general lack of fanfare 24 hours out from the first ball, and at a ground that once pulled in 10,000 fans just to watch a practice session after a two-year hiatus, the silence feels louder. Inside the press conference room, Stephen Fleming doesn't have much new to say. And at the box office, the uncertainty lingers around ticket sales according to local reports, a phenomenon unheard of on these shores.

It's a reflection of the kind of season Chennai Super Kings have had so far. Only two wins in their first eight matches has consigned them to the bottom of the points table, and while MS Dhoni has briefly spoken about getting the "combinations right" and "securing an eleven" for the "next year" already, Fleming sounded a bit more optimistic than he did afterCSK's nine-wicket drubbing in Mumbai.

"We're still hopeful of winning 6 out of 6," Fleming said on the eve of the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. "And some will giggle at that, but RCB set a blueprint for that the year before."

The RCB template, which saw the Bengaluru franchise win six of their last seven matches last year to make the playoffs, is something that SRH's head coach Daniel Vettori also referenced after a seven-wicket loss at home, coincidentally also to the Mumbai Indians. "There's been a few teams that have been able to resurrect their seasons. And you look back to RCB last year after a difficult start. So if we can take some inspiration, it's from a team like them," Vettori had said.

While the RCB-style comeback is a month-long project, what's in front are two crucial points that both teams would want to grab in order to keep their season alive. But predicting a favourite isn't as straightforward in what feels like a battle of weaknesses than strengths. CSK haven't had the best time at home, losing three of the four matches played here, and they will be up against a side that's yet to win an away game this season and that's never beaten them at home.

When: Match 43, IPL 2025, on Friday, 25 April, at 7:30 PM IST

Where: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

What to expect: Another match of attrition at a venue that's largely been difficult for the batters. Uneven ground dimensions are likely to be in play and the weather is set to be hot and humid.

Team News

Chennai Super Kings

Injury/Availability concerns: No reported injuries in the squad.

Tactics & matchups: Matheesha Pathirana has a favourable match-up against Henrich Klaasen in T20s, having dismissed him thrice in 22 balls and conceding only 26 runs.

Probable XII: Shaik Rasheed, Rachin Ravindra/Vansh Bedi, Ayush Mhatre, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Vijay Shankar/Sam Curran, Jamie Overton, MS Dhoni (c, wk), Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana, R Ashwin

Takeaways from practice: Bowling consultant Eric Simons had a long chat with an out-of-form Rachin Ravindra on the sidelines of the net session, and it remains to be seen if CSK still stick with him. Wicketkeeper-batter Vansh Bedi got a long hit in the nets and even impressed in one of the intra-squad practice matches, and he could get a look in. The fourth overseas slot can then go to Sam Curran.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Injury/Availability concerns: No reported injuries in the squad.

Tactics & matchups: SRH spinners have bagged just eight wickets at 50.75 and are conceding at 9.80 per over, the worst among all teams. But the likes of Zeeshan Ansari and Rahul Chahar might have it easier against CSK, who have been the worst performing side against spin this season, losing 25 wickets at 18.84 and scoring at just 6.61 per over.

Probable XII: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Aniket Verma, Pat Cummins (c), Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari, Eshan Malinga, Rahul Chahar

SRH didn't have a practice session on match eve, given back to back games, but with Mohammed Shami struggling for rhythm, Jaydev Unadkat could keep his place.

Did you know?

SRH have lost the joint-most Powerplay wickets (16) and have the lowest average (27.81) while CSK have the lowest scoring rate in this phase.

Among the batters to have faced at least 100 balls this season, Rachin has the fourth lowest strike-rate and the lowest among specialist openers. His only 50+ score came in CSK's season opener against MI.

What they said

"There won't be a wasted game or an opportunity in the next few weeks and the players know that as well, and that creates opportunity and creates a bit of competition with them but we won't let any time go to waste" CSK head coach Stephen Fleming

Squads:

Chennai Super Kings Squad: Shaik Rasheed, Rachin Ravindra, Ayush Mhatre, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni(w/c), Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana, Ravichandran Ashwin, Anshul Kamboj, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Sam Curran, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Gopal, Devon Conway, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Dewald Brevis, Andre Siddarth C, Vansh Bedi

Sunrisers Hyderabad Squad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Aniket Verma, Pat Cummins(c), Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari, Eshan Malinga, Abhinav Manohar, Mohammed Shami, Rahul Chahar, Sachin Baby, Wiaan Mulder, Kamindu Mendis, Atharva Taide, Simarjeet Singh, Smaran Ravichandran