After impressing in the qualifiers of the Champions League T20 (CLT20), the Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to capitalize on their familiarity with the Mohali surroundings when they take on Trinidad & Tobago in their first match of the tournament proper on Tuesday.
The Sunrisers picked up two wins out of three matches in the qualifiers, with the only loss coming in the final game against Otago Volts, after both teams had already qualified for the main draw.
The positive for the Sunrisers in this tournament has been the form shown by the batsmen - particularly the openers - Shikhar Dhawan and Parthiv Patel.
In J.P. Duminy, they have a level-headed batsman coming in at No.3, capable of seeing the side through in chases.
"I'm glad I've got a good run in the qualifying stage and I can take that momentum in the tournament," Duminy told CLT20.com.
"I've always enjoyed batting at No.3 or 4, irrespective of the formats. It's all about opportunities. There are opportunities that have come up with the national team as well as for the Sunrisers for me to bat higher up the order and now it's all about me grabbing them.
"I need to assess the conditions and figure out how I want to plan my innings; the better I can do it, the more runs I will make at this position.
The Sunrisers' bowling of course is their strength, even though the Mohali pitch has nullified the threat of leg-spinners Amit Mishra and Karan Sharma.
If Dale Steyn hits his true heights, though, there will be no looking back and the Sunrisers will be banking on the South African tyro to conjure up a little bit of magic in the upcoming matches.
Trinidad & Tobago, however, are no pushovers and are coming off a convincing win over the Brisbane Heat. The West Indians, while not impressing with the bat, put in a stellar bowling performance in the first game to ease past the Aussie side.
Ravi Rampaul is the main threat with the ball and the Sunrisers top order will have to be wary of the fast bowler's prowess.
But then, if Dhawan, also the skipper for this tournament, catches fire, then there will be no stopping the Hyderabad side.
Where to watch
The match is scheduled for an 8 p.m. (IST) start with it set for a Live telecast on Star Sports, Star Cricket (Hindi) and Star Cricket HD. You can also catch the action online by clicking the official link HERE.
Squads: Sunrisers Hyderabad: Shikhar Dhawan, Parthiv Patel, Cameron White, JP Duminy, Dale Steyn, Biplab Samantray, Thisara Perera, Karan Sharma, Hanuma Vihari, Ashish Reddy, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma, Darren Sammy, Anand Rajan, Clint McKay.
Trinidad & Tobago: Denesh Ramdin, Rayad Emrit, Jason Mohammed, Nicolas Pooran, Sunil Narine, Evin Lewis, Samuel Badree, Navin Stewart, Shannon Gabriel, Yannick Ottley, Adrian Barath, Sherwin Ganga, Lendl Simmons, Ravi Rampaul, Darren Bravo.
Prediction: The Sunrisers canter to a win to begin their campaign on a sound note.
