Sunrisers Hyderabad will face off against the Chennai Super Kings in today's IPL 2025 encounter at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium. Such matches are really important, and these teams are at the bottom of the points stable, desperately needing victory. Now, fans are waiting with bated breath for a good show at Chidambaram, and it promises to be an interesting battle, with specific mention of the SRH explosive openers and CSK speedsters Khaleel Ahmed and Matheesha Pathirana, Sharma and Head. Quite funnily, neither of Travis Head or Abhishek Sharma has faced Pathirana in an IPL match. To this date, they have fought the angry Sri Lankan bowler from the side of his team or on the other. Pathirana has taken 7 wickets in 6 games this season though averages a hefty 10.43 runs per over. Aggressive was the top order of Sunrisers Hyderabad last year when they ravaged Delhi Capitals for 125 runs in the powerplay. Pathirana, on the other hand, has dismissed 22% of the top-order batters in IPL, posing a serious threat to the new ball. For the showdown at Chennai, tensions ride high-a high-stakes individual match faced by two hard-hitting openers and a sharp pacer, and it is really the first time for them to ball under pressure against each other. In another nail-biting contest, Abhishek Sharma could possibly be seen duelling with Khaleel Ahmed. This is to be the third face-off between the two in IPL. During their earlier two clashes in 2022 and 2024, Abhishek faced a mere four balls, and fell into the trap once. It's less of a sample, but adds piquancy to the rivalry. Among the comments, Khaleel always plays a special role in getting up to 49.4% of his 85 IPL wickets from top-order dismissals in the powerplay. In the IPL, Khaleel and Travis Head have never faced each other. This will make their contest an interesting one on this stage. Khaleel is in good form this season, taking 11 wickets in his 8 matches. Also Read | Watch: Ishan Kishan fumes after bizarre dismissal vs MI With SRH poised to be at risk for a top-four exit, both Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head need to take their games to the next level. Their contributions so far have been above-average. Neither has been a difference-maker. In 8 matches, Abhishek has scored 204 runs while Travis has scored 244. The duo are fairing pretty well in terms of strike rate, Abhishek at 183.2, and Travis at 163.0, but neither of them has shown any real consistency. Abhishek has one century yet no fifties with one more having two fifties in his records. However, neither of them tops the score tally for this season in SRH. With elimination staring them in the face, both openers will now have to deliver when it matters the most.