Overview
Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings meet in the Indian Premier League (IPL), with the last four matches between the teams having produced six 200-plus scores. If the ground staff at the MA Chidambaram Stadium prepare a suitable pitch, this could be another high-scoring thriller.
However, the last time the IPL visited Chepauk, it was a low-scoring affair, with Chennai struggling to chase down 135 runs. This year, Chennai have a chance to reclaim their home ground’s “fortress” status, and they have started reasonably well, winning two out of three matches at home.
Their top order has been particularly strong, with Ruturaj Gaikwad leading the powerplay run-scoring charts. The Super Kings will face a formidable opponent in Arshdeep Singh, who has been praised by Ravi Shastri, former India head coach, for his potential to become an all-format player for the national team.
While Punjab suffered a recent loss, they have shown that they can win against any opposition away. However, their bowling needs to improve in the final four overs, where they have been conceding an average of 12 runs per over. Facing the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, and Ajinkya Rahane in that period could prove a challenging task.
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Venue and time
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. 3:30 PM.
Head-to-Head
Chennai and Punjab have played against each other 27 times, with Chennai winning on 15 occasions.
Expected conditions and toss
There are high chances of rain during the match, and it remains to be seen whether we’ll get a full game. While a bit of moisture would be expected on an overcast day, the Chepauk track is expected to be slow, and assist the spinners. The team winning the toss could opt to chase, given that rain is expected to play a role.
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Likely playing XI and impact player
If Punjab Kings play with three overseas players in their XI, then Kagiso Rabada could be an Impact Player when defending a total. Otherwise, it would be interesting to see if Gurnoor Brar gets another chance as an impact player for Punjab. For Chennai, Tushar Deshpande or Ambati Rayudu can come as an impact sub given the situation of the match.
Chennai Super Kings: Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (C, WK), Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Akash Singh.
Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (C), Harpreet Singh, Sam Curran, Atharva Taide, Shahrukh Khan, Liam Livingstone, Sikandar Raza, JM Sharma(WK), Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh.