Dwayne Bravo came across as a richly talented West Indian all-rounder who played a handy role in fast-tracking West Indies back into international prominence. He made his first-class debut for Trinidad and Tobago in 2001-02 and two years later, on the back of some strong all-round performances, made his debut at home against England. In his maiden Test, he showed promise with the bat and also picked up 3 wickets though his side lost heavily. In only his third Test, Bravo showed glimpses of prodigious talent scoring 77 and scalping 6 wickets in the first innings.
 
Early signs showed that Bravo was a better bowler than batsman but he improved on his batting, opening the innings for Trinidad and Tobago and is now a much more accomplished batsman than what he started off as. After being dropped for the 1st Test against Australia in 2005, Bravo bounced back hard in the 2nd Test slamming a brilliant 113, coming in at a precarious situation. It was followed by a superb spell in the 3rd Test where he picked up 6 wickets in the first innings. The next two years were not as fruitful as injury, followed by a poor 2007 World Cup, marred his progress.
 
In 2010, Bravo turned down a WICB central contract, preferring to play several T20 Leagues around the globe. He lost his place in the Test side but remained a regular fixture in the T20Is. He was signed up by Mumbai in the inaugural edition of the Indian T20 League and performed exceedingly well. Later, Chennai bought him in 2011 and he has been with them ever since. Before the Champions Trophy in 2013, Bravo replaced Darren Sammy as the ODI captain.
 
A middle-order batsman, Bravo with his stylish cover drives and quick feet movement, exhibits the true Caribbean flavour. He is also a brilliant fielder and brings energy to the West Indian outfit with his acrobatic fielding. A more than useful death-overs bowler, Bravo has clever variations up his sleeve and also has one of the best slower balls in the business.
 
He was the player's spokesperson when West Indies refused to play their games during a tour of India in 2014 due to issues with the board. Post that, he faced injuries and was eventually left out of the squad as Jason Holder was made the skipper of the ODI team. Bravo then announced his retirement in Tests in 2015. He went on to participate for his country in ODIs and T20Is, even winning the World T20 title in 2016. His injuries and form caused his representation for the national team reducing and eventually, he started playing more in the T20 Leagues around the world.
 
Bravo bid the final goodbye to international cricket when he announced his retirement on 25th October 2018. He remained an exciting and internal part of the Chennai unit as well as the other T20 franchises in the world. Bravo has been one of the best advertisements of the sport, be it due to his joyful nature, his funny antics or for showing superb sportsman spirit. In 2019, Bravo made a U-turn on his retirement and made himself available for the shortest version of the game.

Dwayne Bravo

Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has been ruled out of the ongoing IPL with a groin injury, dealing a massive blow to the already struggling side which has very slim chances of advancing to the play-offs.The 37-year-old Bravo, an integral part of the CSK team for years now, couldn&#39;t bowl the final over against Delhi Capitals in a match in Sharjah on October 17.Skipper MS Dhoni was forced to bowl Ravindra Jadeja, who conceded three sixes.&quot;Dwayne Bravo is ruled out of the IPL due to a groin injury,&quot; CSK CEO Kashi Viswanathan told PTI.Bravo played six games and scored only seven runs in two innings. However, he got six wickets in as many games with an economy rate of 8.57.CSK&#39;s campaign has already been derailed after seven losses from 10 games. They are currently currently lying at the bottom of the league table.Chennai Super Kings were already hamstrung by absence of senior players Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh, both of whom pulled out citing personal reasons.The poor form of some of the senior players like skipper Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav has also hurt their cause.

Bravo got six wickets in six games with an economy rate of 8.57

Dwayne John Bravo

Indian Premier League, 2020

Chennai Super Kings

Dwayne Bravo ruled out of IPL with groin injury

It&rsquo;s 7 versus 8 in Match 37 of IPL 2020 in Abu Dhabi. It has been a strange season for both Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals in many ways with only three wins in nine games each. Criclytics gives them only 11 and 5 per cent chance respectively to make it to the Playoffs.&nbsp;However, the way cookie has crumbled this season, 14 points might be enough to fetch the fourth spot and both teams still have time to attain that magical number on the points table. The condition remains that they start stringing victories together without further delay and set the ball rolling with this fixture.Who replaces Bravo?Anything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong for CSK in this campaign. Almost every chink in their armour that was concealed by two great seasons in 2018 and 2019 have been exposed this year. The unavailability of Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh have skewed their fortunes further. Now, they are facing the consequences of an ageing side.Against Delhi Capitals, Dwayne Bravo went off the field and according to their coach, Stephen Fleming, he is expected to stay on the sidelines for a few more games. This gives CSK an opportunity to play Imran Tahir and bolster the spin department with an outright match-winner.&nbsp;Although, MS Dhoni mentioned that when they plug one hole, other holes open up and Tahir&rsquo;s inclusion will fall under the same dilemma. It will leave them searching for pace bowling options for the death overs. Both Sam Curran and Shardul Thakur have been up and down. Hence, they would also want to play one amongst Josh Hazlewood or Lungi Ngidi.&nbsp;Positives with the batShane Watson&rsquo;s continued run of decent scores is a massive relief for CSK. After starting slow, Watson has fed CSK with crucial batting contributions at top of the order. In between, Ambati Rayudu has done well in adapting to the situation of the game. Down the order, there is Ravindra Jadeja who is enjoying his best IPL season with the bat. The left-hander has scored 159 runs at a strike-rate of 180.7 this year - the highest for him in a season to date.Moreover, his strike-rate during the death overs has been 212.5, the highest for CSK and the fourth-highest in the competition.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F912da67425b1454d9c4c31a865711c08322b7ed5.png" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">While MS Dhoni is still struggling for form, runs from this trio has reduced the pressure from Faf du Plessis. The last time these two teams met, in Match 4, it was only du Plessis who was amongst runs, hence allowing the RR bowlers to get a hold of them.&nbsp;Young Kartik pairing up with ArcherRR&rsquo;s bowling fortunes have suffered with no-one putting their hand up to support Jofra Archer. He has the best economy-rate and bowling average in the side by a distance.&nbsp;The young Kartik Tyagi, although, has extended his hand for support. His overall economy-rate might not make heads turn but the 19-year old surprisingly has been most economical during the death overs.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F9ba6e1b55599f2f7234e74c2bcb50a6f6b1aef19.png" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">The mantra behind his success has been bowling full and straight with pace. Overall, he has landed 13 yorkers correctly - the fifth-most in the league to date despite playing lesser number of games than those above him. At the death, 48 percent of his deliveries have been yorkers or attempted yorkers.&nbsp;Him and Archer against the CSK batsmen at the death could be the most mouth-watering contest of the match.The uncertainty over RR&rsquo;s batting orderIn nine matches, RR have tried five opening pairs. In their last game, Jos Buttler swapped positions with Robin Uthappa and went down the order. Uthappa played a fluent knock but Buttler, arguably their best batsman, couldn&rsquo;t get himself going.&nbsp;The problem with RR is that all the major batsmen in their squad are top-order batsmen. None of them have been consistent enough to seal a spot in the top three. As a result, RR have tried everything to find a productive batting order but after nine games, they are still chopping and changing.What combination they bat with against CSK is a mystery. The absence of a finisher and Uthappa&rsquo;s success against RCB might persuade them to continue experimenting with Buttler in the middle-order. Or will we see Buttler open with Uthappa and Ben Stokes at four or five?Probable XIsChennai Super Kings:&nbsp;Kedar Jadhav&rsquo;s inclusion in the previous game was baffling but given he neither batted nor bowled, he might hold his place in the side. The quandary around the spot vacated &nbsp;by Bravo&rsquo;s injury will be resolved at the toss only. The rest of the side is expected to be the same.&nbsp;Sam Curran, Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (c &amp; wk), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Karn Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir/Lungi Ngidi/Josh HazlewoodRajasthan Royals:Another underwhelming performance by Jaydev Unadkat has raised questions over his place again. Will RR swap him with Ankit Rajpoot or Varun Aaron to rush CSK with more pace?&nbsp;Robin Uthappa, Ben Stokes, Steve Smith (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Kartik Tyagi, Jaydev Unadkat/Ankit Rajpoot/Varun Aaron

Both teams are in a similar situation looking for four wins out of their remaining five games

Steven Peter Devereux Smith

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Jofra Chioke Archer

Joseph Charles Buttler

Kartik Tyagi

Mohammad Imran Tahir

Ravindrasinh Anirudhsinh Jadeja

Shane Robert Watson

Ambati Thirupathi Rayudu

Francois du Plessis

Rajasthan Royals

RR, CSK meet with the campaign on the line

Chennai Super Kings&#39; death bowling expert Dwayne Bravo could be &quot;out for a few days or a couple of weeks&quot; due to a groin injury, according to head coach Stephen Fleming. Bravo&#39;s inability to bowl the final over cost CSK their IPL game on Saturday as Delhi Capitals knocked off the required 17 runs. &quot;He (Bravo) seems to have a right groin injury, obviously it was serious enough to keep him from coming back to the field, he is just really disappointed that he was not able to bowl the final over, that&#39;s pretty much for what he is in the team for,&quot; Bravo said.The seasoned all-rounder&#39;s injury would have to be reassessed going forward. &quot;He would have to be reassessed going forward, at this stage, you would imagine that it would take a few days or a couple of weeks,&quot; Fleming said after CSK&#39;s five-wicket loss.Bravo&#39;s injury meant CSK had to give left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja the final over. &quot;Unfortunately Dwayne Bravo got injured so he could not bowl the last over, naturally he is a death bowler, that&#39;s the way our season has been going, we are having challenges thrown at us,&quot; Fleming said at the post-match press conference.&quot;Jadeja was not planned to bowl at the death, but with Bravo getting injured, we did not have any other option. We did well to create a situation where it could have worked for us but we have to keep working hard and turn it around.&quot;The CSK head coach said Shikhar Dhawan played well but rued the dropped catches as the experienced left-handed opener guided DC home with his first IPL hundred. &quot;Well, we gave Shikhar Dhawan a few lives, he was playing well, we had opportunities to take his wicket early but we did not take them. &quot;He was playing aggressively and he was staying right up there with the required run-rate, if we had got him out, we could have put pressure on their middle-lower order, the game might have been different, dropping three-four catches against him was a bit too many.&quot;He said the team did well to reach 179 for five, thanks to some good hitting towards the end. &quot;It was difficult early on, the way we played in the back five was promising, some good hitting from us to get there at 180, we if had taken our chances, it would have been a match-winning score but it was not to be,&quot; he added.

The CSK all-rounder was forced off the field against DC due to groin injury

Stephen Paul Fleming

Bravo 'out for a few days or a couple of weeks,' says Fleming

Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Saturday (17th October) said he had to hand the ball to Ravindra Jadeja to bowl the match-deciding final over against Delhi Capitals since Dwayne Bravo, his preferred option, was not available due to fitness issues.Capitals needed 17 runs off the final over and Bravo, who is very effective with his slower balls under such crunch situation, was off the field.Axar Patel smacked three sixes off Jadeja to take his side past the finish line.&quot;Bravo was not fit. He went out and didn&#39;t come back. The options were Jaddu and Karn. I went with Jaddu,&quot; Dhoni said at the post-match presentation.The CSK captain admitted that fielders let the side down.&quot;Shikhar&#39;s wicket was important but we dropped him quite a number of times. If he keeps batting, he will keep the strike rate high. Also the wicket played better in the second half, but we can&#39;t take the credit away from Shikhar,&quot; he said.Shikhar Dhawan scored his maiden IPL ton in Capitals&#39; five wicket win.Dhoni said the pitch behaved better when Capitals began the chase.&quot;There wasn&#39;t a lot of dew, but there was just enough to make the pitch better. That makes a big difference: minus 10 when you are batting, and the extra 10 for the team batting second,&quot; he said.Dhoni was also impressed with the way young Sam Curran bowled under pressure in the 19th over. He conceded only four runs, making it as tough for DC as possible.&quot;A positive was Sam&#39;s last over. He needs convincing he can execute the wide yorkers. He is not usually confident with that, but today he did well with that. So that is one ball that can be difficult to hit.&quot;Winning skipper Shreyas Iyer had every reason to smile to at the end of the match.&quot;I was sitting inside and I was pretty nervous. I knew if Shikhar stayed till the end, we would win, but the way Axar came out and hit those sixes, it was brilliant. Whenever we give out dressing room Man of the match awards, he is always there. You see his preparations, they are always on point,&quot; said Iyer.&quot;We know the strengths and weaknesses of our team very well. We enjoy each other&#39;s progress. I just told one of my team-mates today that the way Shikhar batted it was mesmerising to see. As a captain, that gives you breathing space that someone can take your team to the end.&quot;&nbsp;

The CSK captain admitted that fielders let the side down

Shreyas Santosh Iyer

Delhi Capitals

Bravo was not fit to bowl final over: Dhoni

The contest between Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad saw a number of eye-catching stats. Here is a look at the statistical highlights from the 29th match of IPL 2020:&nbsp;Faf du Plessis and his golden ducksOne of the most consistent batsmen of Chennai Super Kings, Faf du Plessis has a bizarre association with the most non-pleasing number for a batsman. Du Plessis got out to Sandeep Sharma off the first ball he faced, which was his third duck in IPL. The duck against Sunrisers Hyderabad came after 47 innings, his last duck prior to this was against Kings XI Punjab on May 30 2014, in Mumbai. Du Plessis has only three ducks in 72 IPL innings which is quite impressive. However, all of them have been a golden duck (first ball dismissal).Most runs scored off an over in the Powerplay this seasonIn a rather surprising turn of events, Sam Curran, with the experience of just one game as an opener in T20 cricket before this game, stepped out alongside du Plessis to open. The move of sending Curran as a pinch-hitter worked out perfectly for Chennai Super Kings when he clubbed Khaleel Ahmed for 22 runs in the fourth over. The 22 runs scored by Curran were the most runs Chennai had scored in an over in IPL 2020. In addition to that, the 22-run over was also the costliest over by a bowler inside the Powerplay this season. Previously, the duo of Shane Watson and du Plessis had clubbed 19 runs off Chris Jordan in the sixth over.Chennai Super Kings post their third highest total of this seasonChennai Super Kings&rsquo; batting this season hasn&rsquo;t been of great stature. The score of 167 being their third highest says a lot about it. However, on a positive note, their main batsmen like Watson and Ambati Rayudu are coming back to their elements. Today as well, against Sunrisers Hyderabad, the 81-run partnership between Watson and Rayudu and cameos from MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja propelled them to a score of 167. Only twice in this season have they scored more than 167, their highest (200/6) being against Rajasthan Royals in Sharjah.Rayudu-Watson come good togetherAfter a brisk start by Curran during the Powerplay, Watson and Rayudu had the leverage of spending a bit of time at the crease before they opened up their shoulders. In fact, they did a great job of not losing a wicket during overs 7-15. The two acquired 72 runs in this phase that comprised of two fours and five maximums. In an effort at pushing the run-rate, Rayudu departed in the 16th over, ending an 81-run partnership, which was their third highest of the season. The unbeaten 181-run partnership of Watson and du Plessis against Kings XI Punjab is currently their highest this season.A miserly last overHow often do we see a single run conceded off the 20th over, irrespective of the innings? Dwayne Bravo, a seasoned campaigner had to defend 22 runs off the last over to fetch Chennai Super Kings a victory tonight. With batsmen number nine and 10 at the crease, the guile of Bravo was too much to handle. A lot of swish and swirl went in vain as the batsmen could only see the ball carrying to Dhoni. The aftermath was just a solitary run and a wicket, which is the joint-least a Chennai bowler has conceded in a completed 20th over. The other instance was when Mohit Sharma conceded just one run and picked up a wicket against Kings XI Punjab in 2015, in Chennai.&nbsp;

Here are a few noteworthy numbers from the game between Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad

Samuel Matthew Curran

Sunrisers Hyderabad

A duck after 47 innings and most runs in a Powerplay over

Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming said Kedar Jadhav was sent ahead of Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo in a tense run chase against Kolkata Knight Riders because of his ability to play spin well.However, Jadhav laboured to seven off 12 balls as KKR won the game by 10 runs here on Wednesday.&quot;At the time, we thought that Kedar could play the spinner well and dominate, while Jadeja was there to come and finish. But in the end, there was too much work to do and we fell short,&quot; Fleming said at the press-match conference.Jadhav was trolled heavily on social media following the defeat.The New Zealander rued that their batsmen let it &quot;slip&quot; despite having so many resources. The team added just 14 runs from 11-14 overs, a period when they lost both Shane Watson and an in-form Ambati Rayudu.&quot;If we could have got one of those players to 75-plus and continued that partnership for another maybe four or five overs, the game might have been a lot different.&nbsp;&quot;Kolkata hung in there long enough to put pressure on us and we just couldn&#39;t accelerate. We feel disappointed that we let it slip.&quot;The absence of Suresh Raina, who pulled out of IPL for personal reasons, was once again felt sorely in the middle but Fleming said they have a well-balanced side.&quot;But the performances like today, with the experience we have got, we should have put it away.&quot;&quot;We have got a lot of batsmen anyway so the balance is very good with the six bowlers. I don&#39;t think an extra batsman is going to help.&quot;Dinesh Karthik&#39;s ploy to hold his ace spinner Sunil Narine for the back-end of the innings paid dividends as he dismissed his &#39;bunny&#39; Watson for the ninth time in T20s.&quot;Ideally, you have one or two players bat through...Today with (Sunil) Narine holding overs back, it made it very difficult in the back-end,&quot; the former Kiwi skipper said.Fleming further said they have plenty of batting resources and on the day their ploy did not work out.&quot;We&#39;ve got so much batting resources. Kedar is a late middle to late batter for India. We could have gone a whole lot of different ways. Today Kedar had some balls but that didn&#39;t work out.&quot;You always put players in different areas and that&#39;s just when you have so much batting talent to choose from. It&#39;s one of the things we look at, but it&#39;s all in hindsight.&quot;CSK bowlers on the other hand stood up to stage a remarkable comeback in the back to bowl out KKR for 167.In his first game of the season, legspinner Karn Sharma, who replaced Piyush Chawla in the XI, was the most economical of the lot and got CSK back into the game with his figures of 2/25 from his full quota.&quot;He&#39;s been waiting for a while for an opportunity. In the first over he was a bit unlucky but the next three overs he really worked hard and he got us back into the game. I think he can get some confidence from this.&quot;With the pitches drying out, we can use him in combination with Piyush and Jaddu. We might be able to operate with more spinners which we are used to,&quot; Fleming said.Medium pacers Sam Curran and Shradul Thakur also bagged two wickets, while left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja was not given the ball on a slow pitch.&quot;It&#39;s a question more for MS (Dhoni). I don&#39;t make those decisions. I would imagine that it was a little bit to do with the wind and also the matchups that were out there with the left-handers. I think the general feel was that the medium pacers were doing a good job,&quot; Fleming signed off.

The 35-year-old was trolled heavily on social media following the defeat

Kedar Mahadav Jadhav

Kolkata Knight Riders

Jadhav was sent ahead of Jadeja as he could play spin well: Fleming

Chennai choked to lose by 10 runs to KKR when at one stage they were comfortably placed to win. Here is a look at the statistical highlights from the 21st match of IPL 2020:&nbsp;Dwayne Bravo becomes the fifth bowler in IPL to 150 wicketsThe bowler who has over 500 wickets in T20s, reached another milestone in the IPL. Dwayne Bravo, earlier in the Caribbean Premier League 2020, reached the crest of bowlers when he bagged 500 wickets. Today, with the wicket of Shivam Mavi, Bravo recorded his 150th IPL wicket. He became the fifth bowler overall and only the second overseas bowler to pick up 150 wickets in IPL. Lasith Malinga with 170 wickets, tops the list among IPL wicket-takers. &nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F25bfdcc09b04face03aebfd467a6c9b0913db038.jpg" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">A birthday special for BravoOn his birthday, to be said, Bravo got a fruitful gift when he breached the 150 wicket mark in IPL. Bravo returned with figures of 3/37 against Kolkata Knight Riders. A much needed spell as he was under the pump. In Bravo&rsquo;s last 9 innings prior to today, he just had two wickets at an economy of 7.5. The three wicket spell came as a relief and couldn&rsquo;t have made his birthday better. Bravo&rsquo;s 3/37 is the third-best spell by a bowler on his birthday in IPL. James Faulkner&rsquo;s spell of 3/11 against Kolkata in 2014 in Abu Dhabi, is the best for a bowler on his birthday.<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F6feffeb2fe6ed18311166cbc6e75940e35364c90.jpg" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Dinesh Karthik and MS Dhoni on equal termsBoth, Dinesh Karthik and MS Dhoni are are neck and neck in the IPL. Dhoni might have the most dismissals as a wicket-keeper in IPL, but Karthik is closely behind him in terms of catches taken. In fact, he is equal with Dhoni at 104 catches as a wicket-keeper. Overall in IPL, Karthik has taken 112 catches as a fielder and wicket-keeper combined, which is the most. Dhoni has 108 catches to his name. With both of them currently playing, who wins the race to end up with most catches is to be seen.Sunil Narine&rsquo;s bunny in T20sSunil Narine has had the better of most batsmen in T20s, but he has taken a special liking for Shane Watson. It is a well known fact that Watson struggles against spin, and against the class of Narine, he has been clueless. Narine has bagged Watson nine times in the 16 innings face-off. Watson has managed to score at an average of 9.9 against him in T20s. The nine dismissals against Watson, is the most for Narine against a batsman in T20s.A unique unwanted first for Chennai Super KingsChennai Super Kings have put on authoritative performances against Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL. Their 61.9 per cent win record against them is a proof of it. However, when it comes to a win in a chase, Chennai had been flawless before this match. Prior to today&rsquo;s match, in the eight times Chennai had chased against Kolkata, they had never lost. But, this match marked their first ever loss against Kolkata in a chase. Chennai still have an 88.8 per cent win record against Kolkata in a chase. Among teams who have chased in five or more matches against a team in IPL, only Sunrisers Hyderabad, against the now defunct Gujarat Lions have a 100 per cent win record.

Here are a few noteworthy milestones from the game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings

Krishnakumar Dinesh Karthik

CSK lose for the first time in a chase to KKR in the IPL

It is a battle of two similar sides in Match 14 of IPL 2020. As the past seasons have unfolded, Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad have established a niche for themselves with a template that has helped them succeed consistently.&nbsp;The change in venue has not been fruitful for both sides as they do not have their favorable slow pitches (at least at the start of the tournament) at their home venue. As a result, both teams have only one victory out of three games. Not surprisingly, the sole victory came in Abu Dhabi, the only track that has shown traces of slowness as yet. Abiding by the dynamics of their side, CSK chased 162 against Mumbai Indians in the season opener while SRH defended the same total against Delhi Capitals.&nbsp;CSK have history on their side having won five out of their last six contests against SRH but the David Warner-led side will be confident having scored a good victory over Delhi Capitals. The good news for CSK is that both Ambati Rayudu and Dwayne Bravo are now available for selection recovering from injuries, as confirmed by the CSK CEO, KS Viswanathan.&nbsp;Batting woesHowever, they still have a lot of questions to answer. One of them is their scoring rate at the top. At 6.9 runs per over, CSK is the second slowest batting unit in the Powerplay so far this tournament. The opening pair of Shane Watson and Murali Vijay, both of whom are on the wrong side of 30s, have put CSK behind the asking rate every time. Watson and Vijay have batted at a strike-rate of 68 and 88.9 respectively in the first 10 balls of their innings this season as yet.&nbsp;With not much cricket behind them and age playing a factor, both of them have struggled to put bat on the ball at the start of the innings against express pace. Against SRH, however, they might be at ease since the Orange Army does not boast of any express pacers.The quandary around slow-starters runs through the CSK batting line-up this season.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F266470dd545813b3a665dae630468c2478efa1fa.jpg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Hence, they are languishing in the lower-half of the run-rate table in every phase of a T20 innings this season - 6.9 in Powerplay, 8.1 during the middle-overs and 10.8 at the death (boosted by one match in Sharjah).Moreover, there remains doubts over MS Dhoni&rsquo;s batting position. He admitted he is still rusty which made him push himself down in the order but at the moment, none of CSK&rsquo;s frontline batsmen (except Faf du Plessis and Ambati Rayudu) have seemed to be in rhythm.&nbsp;Bowling worriesDhoni criticized both batsmen and the bowlers post CSK&rsquo;s defeat against Delhi. Akin to their batting, their troubles with the ball also start at the top. With less swing on offer upfront, Chahar has been a shadow of his previous self. The alarming dip in his bowling numbers with the new ball have let CSK down.<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2Fde37a7d94c72afd4a501dbee845dbe36c3dabf7c.jpg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">Likewise, the spinners - Piyush Chawla and Ravindra Jadeja - have also found it tough further sinking CSK to one of the least effective bowling sides in the spin department as yet - 39.2 runs per wicket and 9.8 runs per over.&nbsp;Kane can accelerateIt was surprising to see Kane Williamson back in the SRH XI so soon and the Kiwi international batted like he was never away from competitive cricket. Williamson&rsquo;s fluent 26-ball 41 was the difference that helped SRH beat Delhi.&nbsp;Williamson&rsquo;s class is evident from the fact that he is one of the most prolific batsmen during the middle overs in IPL since 2018, be it his run tally, batting average or strike-rate.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F0416805498e7f35682050fa66792c971fd191312.jpg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">His presence solves SRH&rsquo;s middle-overs crisis and the way he batted in his first game, he will test the struggling CSK spinners.&nbsp;Natarajan, the yorker specialistWe have not yet seen many yorkers this IPL, which might be due to rustiness amongst bowlers and the due factor in UAE. But SRH&rsquo;s T Natarajan has been a revelation in the department. He has nailed 14 yorkers in three games thus far, eight more than the next best, Tom Curran (six yorkers in as many games).&nbsp;Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma and Khaleel Ahmed have shown inconsistent form but Natarajan has been excellent with his lengths throughout. He played a big role in choking Delhi in the previous game and might come in handy against CSK as well.&nbsp;Probable XIsChennai Super KingsSuresh Raina&rsquo;s withdrawal from the tournament has jeopardized CSK&rsquo;s balance. They are forced to play two overseas batsmen which is stopping them from playing quality players like Mitchell Santner and Imran Tahir.&nbsp;With Rayudu set to come into the XI, Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has been batting out of position at number five is expected to replace Vijay and partner Watson as an opener. Including Bravo in the side might be tough since Sam Curran has not done anything wrong.Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (c &amp; wk), Kedar Jadhav, Sam Curran, Ravindraa jadeja, Dwayne Bravo/Josh Hazlewood, Deepak Chahar, Piyush ChawlaSunrisers HyderabadAfter getting off the mark on the points table, SRH would want to field the same XI.David Warner (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Priyam Garg/Virat Singh, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Abhishek Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, T Natarajan

Both sides have two points on board after three games

David Andrew Warner

Kane Stuart Williamson

Thangarasu Natarajan

CSK aim to get back on track against a rebuilding SRH

Ambati Rayudu&#39;s much-awaited comeback will be a shot in the arm for an under-pressure Chennai Super Kings when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad, who have shown resilience after early setbacks, in the IPL on Friday.Rayudu, hero of CSK&#39;s opening IPL victory against Mumbai Indians, missed out due to mild hamstring injury and Bravo has been also carrying a niggle of similar nature since the Caribbean Premier League where he didn&#39;t bowl in the last two games.&quot;Both Rayudu and Bravo are available for selection,&quot; CSK CEO KS Viswanathan told PTI on Thursday.CSK and SRH (since inception) have traditionally been two of the most balanced sides in most IPL editions but both have gone through scratchy starts this year, losing two of their first three games, primarily due to lack of balance in the middle-order.Rayudu&#39;s presence could well mean that he will replace an out-of-form Murali Vijay at the top alongside Shane Watson. However, same cannot be said about DJ Bravo as it will then force Mahendra Singh Dhoni to tinker with the whole line-up.But Kedar Jadhav&#39;s poor form will certainly be a worry for Dhoni as there aren&#39;t any ready replacement for the Maharashtra man, who hasn&#39;t played any notable innings in near or distant past.Bravo&#39;s replacement Sam Curran has been one of CSK&#39;s better performers in the first three games with good change-ups in pace and handy hitting.In order to accommodate Bravo, Dhoni will either have to do away with opener Watson or seamer Josh Hazlewood, both of whom look non-negotiable on the Dubai track.For Hyderabad, the presence of Kane Williamson made a fragile middle-order, full of Indian rookies, look more solid. Both Jonny Bairstow and David Warner also got their share of runs.For SRH to succeed, they need to find that one dependable Indian big-hitter in the middle order in case their top three -- Bairstow, Warner and Williamson fail in unison.Kashmiri lad Abdul Samad has shown promise while both Priyam Garg and Abhishek Sharma need to up their game.The bowling line-up is pretty even for both teams.While Deepak Chahar, Hazlewood, Curran, Ravindra Jadeja and Piyush Chawla can be more than a handful on slow a Dubai track, SRH have found their death overs specialist in T Natarajan, who can be an ideal foil to world&#39;s No.1 T20 bowler Rashid Khan.Khan was brilliant against Delhi Capitals, claiming three wickets which also earned him the man of the match honours.TeamsChennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (captain, wk), M Vijay, Ambati Rayudu, Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Kedar Jadhav, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Lungi Ngidi, Deepak Chahar, Piyush Chawla, Imran Tahir, Mitchell Santner, Josh Hazlewood, Shardul Thakur, Sam Curran, N Jagadeesan, KM Asif, Monu Kumar, R Sai Kishore, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Karn Sharma.Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (captain), Jonny Bairstow, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Shreevats Goswami, Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Wriddhiman Saha, Abdul Samad, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Jason Holder, Abhishek Sharma, B Sandeep, Sanjay Yadav, Fabian Allen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Siddharth Kaul, Billy Stanlake, T Natarajan, Basil Thampi.(Match starts at 7.30 pm IST on Friday)

Injuries for Ambati Rayudu and Dwayne Bravo had compromised Chennai's balance in their last two games

CSK's CEO confirms Rayudu and Bravo's availability for selection

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming has confirmed that their star all-rounder Dwayne Bravo will miss another couple of matches of the 13th Indian Premier League (IPL). Despite missing the seasoned West Indian who is recovering from an injury, three-times winners CSK began their campaign on a positive note, beating arch-rivals Mumbai Indians by five wickets here on Saturday.&quot;Dwayne Bravo is out for a couple of games,&quot; Fleming said in the post-match press conference.Bravo picked a niggle during the recently-concluded Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and didn&#39;t bowl in the final due to a knee injury.Playing in place of Bravo, English all-rounder Sam Curran smashed 18 off six balls to help CSK cross the finish line after Ambati Rayudu and Faf du Plessis&#39; scored brisk half-centuries. In his quota of four overs, Curran returned impressive figures of 1/28 while picking up the wicket of the dangerous looking Quinton de Kock, and then played a cameo with the bat. &quot;Curran&#39;s performance was terrific,&quot; Fleming said.The head coach also heaped praise on Rayudu, who played a match-winning knock, making a 48-ball 71 and along with du Plessis, who scored an unbeaten 58, helped Chennai chase down a target of 163 with four balls to spare. &quot;Rayudu has been nothing short of fantastic. He has been pretty emotional and played a great knock,&quot; Fleming said.The former New Zealand captain further said that the pitch was &quot;difficult&quot; to score and that the team is looking for ways to find the right balance. While addressing his team&#39;s post-match press conference, Mumbai Indians pacer James Pattinson said that they were looking to bowl first. &quot;We were looking to bowl first, with the temperature being high at night time the ground does get a bit wet. So, there is an advantage in bowling first. Both the teams were looking to bowl first,&quot; Pattinson said.&quot;There&#39;s a little bit of wetness around the grass. It skidded on a little bit. It was a good wicket overall,&quot; the Australian added.Speaking about Kieron Pollard&#39;s batting position, Pattinson said that he expects the West Indian to bat higher up in the order in the future. Pollard batted at number six against CSK. &quot;I think between him (Pollard) and the two Pandya brothers, it&#39;s just going to float at number 5, 6 and 7 depending on the situation of the game. I&#39;m sure he&#39;ll bat higher at some stage, depending on the situation in the game,&quot; said Pattinson.The bowler also talked about the absence of crowd in the IPL. &quot;You just have to make your own noise out there. It&#39;s obviously hard when you don&#39;t have fans cheering behind you, especially the Mumbai Indians fans who are great.&quot;So, yeah it&#39;s different, it&#39;s different times, we&#39;re just grateful to be playing cricket,&quot; said Pattinson.

The West Indies all-rounder suffered an injury during his participation in the CPL