The 49th match of the tournament between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Punjab Kings (PBKS). The match between them will start at 7:30 P.M. (IST).
Teams Analysis:
Chennai Super Kings (CSK):
A relief must be felt by the team after winning a match from back to back two losses. They have been excellent in the field and are having one of the best bowling lineups in this season. In the last match against the most destructive batting unit in this season, SRH, was controlled by Chennai bowlers very well. They are currently in 3rd place with 10 points in 9 matches having won 5 and lost 4.
The team leader, Ruturaj Gaikwad, is leading the team in runs department also where he scored 447 runs and is 2nd in the list of orange cap. His batting is phenomenal in the last 5 innings where he scored 67, 69, 17, 108 and 98 runs. At the start of this season, his strike rate was a little slow but now he has improved that and jumped up to 149.49 with an average of 63.85. On the other hand, Ajinkya Rahane has been looking out of touch with the bat. He was unable to score many runs and got out early. Due to this his strike rate drops down to 123.19.
Shivam Dube is contributing his best to the season having scored 350 runs with a healthy strike rate of 172.41. He also has 3 half-centuries to his name with the best of 66 runs. Daryl Mitchell struggled a bit in this season but he got his rhythm back after scoring a brilliant half-century in the last match against SRH where he scored 52 in 32 balls. In the last match he equalled the record for most catches (5) taken by a player in a single IPL match with Mohammad Nabi.
MS Dhoni is yet to be dismissed in this IPL having scored 96 runs with a fantastic strike rate of 259.46. Ravindra Jadeja is a little cheeky with his performance in this season. With the bat he got 157 runs which includes one half-century and with the bowl he got 5 wickets with an economy of 7.55, which is the best among the bowlers in the team.
Team’s most dependable bowlers Matheesha Pathirana and Mustafizur Rahman have been showing their consistency in wicket taking ability. Mustafizur is sharing the purple cap along with Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel with 14 wickets to his name and having an economy of 9.75, while Pathirana has taken 13 wickets with a brilliant average of 13 and economy being 7.68.
Tushar Deshpande also gave his assistance to them with 10 wickets to his pocket till now.
Probable playing 11 for the match:
Ruturaj Gaikwad ©, Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Sameer Rizvi, Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande.
(Impact Player: Mustafizur Rahman)
Punjab Kings (PBKS):
They are currently in the 8th position with 6 points in 9 matches, having won 3 and lost 6. After 4 consecutive losses they got a world record win against KKR in the last match, which shows that they are still in the game and can be seen in the playoffs. Their batting is much better than their bowling, as in the bowling they conceded many runs which mostly results in them losing the match, despite it going to the last overs most of the time.
Shikhar Dhawan already missed 4 matches but it is highly speculated that he might return against CSK. In the match against KKR, bowling coach Sunil Joshi revealed that he is in recovery and might see him against the Men In Yellow. After some valuable knocks, Prabhsimran Singh registered his first half-century in this season in the last match. He is currently the team’s 2nd highest run scorer with 208 runs.
After strings of low scores, Jonny Bairstow showed his powerful hitting after scoring a century in the match against KKR. His valuable and destructive knock, resulted in the highest chase ever in the history of T20 cricket. He scored 108 runs in 48 balls in which he hit 8 fours and 9 sixes.
Shashank Singh is also in good touch and is the team’s most runs scorer in this season with 263 runs in which he hit 2 half-centuries. His powerful hitting took the strike rate to 182.64 and has hit 18 sixes till now. He has already shown the ability to go aggressive in any kind of pitch. Like him, Ashutosh Sharma too possesses the same quality with his powerful hitting and destructive approach. Till now in 5 innings he scored 159 runs with a strike rate of 189.29.
In the absence of Dhawan, Sam Curran got the leadership role. He was not so influential with his batting but made more significance in his bowling as he got 12 wickets till now with an economy of 9.68. The other batters Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone and Rilee Rossouw have been seen in best of their form.
Harshal Patel though started the season with some expensive spells, but looking at the wickets in mind he has the most wickets in his pocket with 14 to his name. He is currently wearing the purple cap along with Jasprit Bumrah and Mustafizur Rahman. Though his economy is still on the higher side which is 10.19, and this thing he needs to improve.
Arshdeep Singh and Kagiso Rabada have also given him support in the pace department. Arshdeep has taken 12 while Rabada has got 10 wickets.
Probably playing 11 for the Match:
Shikhar Dhawan ©, Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Rilee Rossouw, Shashank Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ashutosh Sharma, Sam Curran, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh.
(Impact Player: Harpreet Brar)
Head to Head (CSK vs PBKS):
They played 28 matches against each other.
| CSK | PBKS | |
| won | 15 | 13 |
| Highest score | 240 | 231 |
| Lowest score | 120 | 92 |
Pitch Report:
The match will be played at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. As the dew is mostly high in the second innings, therefore batting can be much easier. A high scoring match is expected. Out of 5 matches, Chennai has won 4.
Weather Report:
There is a partial chance of rain which is approximately 10%, but this will not damage the match much if it happens. Overall the temperature will be 37 degree celsius at the daytime and at night it must drop down a little bit and go to 31 degree celsius. Humidity will be as usual will be very high which is close to 70%.
Best 11 for the Match:
Jonny Bairstow, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, Shashank Singh, Ashutosh Sharma, Harshal Patel, Mustafizur Rahman, Arshdeep Singh, Matheesha Pathirana.