IPL 2021 : PBKS V CSK Preview & Probable XIs

PBKS V CSK  –  HEAD TO HEAD : 23 MATCHES

PBKS WON :  9, CSK WON : 14

In tonight’s encounter, KL Rahul’s Punjab Kings will take on MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings in Mumbai. Both the teams had contrasting starts to their IPL campaigns. PBKS just about managed to win their first encounter against RR while CSK were outplayed by the Capitals, conceding a 7 wicket loss.

CSK’s success all these years can be attributed to the spinner friendly pitches at their fortress, the Chepauk stadium. This time they have to play first 5 of their fixtures at the Wankhede stadium, where the conditions may seem a bit alien to the yellow brigade. It was quite evident in their first match against DC that they lacked a quick pacer on the bouncy pitches of Wankhede. Josh Hazlewood would have been ideal on such surfaces but he pulled out of the IPL at the last moment. They have Lungi Ngidi and Jason Behrendorff in their ranks but both are serving their quarantine and won’t be available.

Suresh Raina started off on a positive note after missing the last season. He made a quick fire 54 and would hope to continue the same way. His form would be really important for CSK given their shaky middle order.

KL Rahul has had some success at the Wankhede. He averages in excess of 84 in the T20s played there, best for anyone at that venue. CSK would want to get rid of him as early as possible. Sending Deepak Hooda ahead of Nicholas Pooran in the previous match did wonders for Punjab. Hooda took apart RR’s bowling line-up, scoring 64 off just 28 balls.

Death bowling has been a concern for Punjab and it was on show again against the Royals. Riley Meredith had an expensive outing on debut, leaking 49 runs in the 4 overs. They would hope of a better show from their new recruit going into the tournament. Arshdeep Singh, on the other hand, was really impressive. He defended 13 runs in the last over against a rampaging Sanju Samson and got his team over the line.

Punjab are likely to go with the same team combination. CSK might bring in Imran Tahir in place of Faf du Plessis. Tahir has a knack of picking up wickets at crucial junctions of the game. Rayudu can move up the order to open with Gaikwad.

Probable XIs :

PBKS :  KL Rahul (C), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Jhye Richardson, Murugan Ashwin, Riley Meredith, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh.

CSK : Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (C), Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir