After tasting their first defeat of the season, the Chennai Super Kings will move to their backyard i.e. the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai to face their next challengers in Kings XI Punjab in the 18th match of the competition.
The only team which has a higher winning percentage over CSK in head to head battles i.e. Mumbai Indians once again pipped the men from South to register their second win of the season. Hardik Pandya’s cameo of a blistering 8 balls 25 lower down the order which included one four and 3 sixes helped Mumbai get to a formidable 170. The score proved way too much for CSK who could only manage 133 for the loss of 8 wickets to close-off the first “El-Classico” of the season.
On the other hand, Kings XI Punjab are coming into this contest after a miraculous win in the northern derby against Delhi Capitals by 14 runs. A match which in every sense was in Delhi’s hand just got slipped away as they lost their last 7 wickets for just 8 runs.
In 20 contests so far between these two teams, CSK have had the upper hand with 12 wins to their name, the rest 08 matches have been won by Kings XI Punjab.
The last time these two teams had a go at each other was in the last edition at the Subrata Roy Stadium in Pune where CSK chased down a score of 153 runs with 5 wickets remaining.
KXIP vs CSK, Indian Premier League
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
06th April 2019, 04:00 PM IST
The Chepauk’s surface has always assisted the spinners and the same has been seen in the last two games played here in this IPL edition. Batsmen will find it tough to get going here.
Total Matches: 51
Average first innings score: 165
Average second innings score: 151
Highest total recorded: 246/5 (20 Ov) by CSK vs RR
Lowest total recorded: 70/10 (17.1 Ov) by RCB vs CSK
Highest score chased: 208/5 (20 Ov) by CSK vs RCB
Lowest score defended: 134/6 (20 Ov) by CSK vs KKR
KXIP: L, W, L, W, W
CSK: W, W, W, W, L
Kings XI Punjab:
Ravichandran Ashwin (c), Sarfaraz Khan, Harpreet Brar, Moises Henriques, Sam Curran, Murugan Ashwin, Agnivesh Ayachi, Simran Singh, Darshan Nalkande, David Miller, Mohammed Shami, Mayank Agarwal, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Arshdeep Singh, Ankit Rajpoot, Karun Nair, Lokesh Rahul, Agnivesh Ayachi, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Hardus Viljoen, Andrew Tye, Varun Chakravarthy, Mandeep Singh.
Chennai Super Kings:
MS Dhoni (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Scott Kuggeleijn, Kedar Jadhav, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Murali Vijay, Karn Sharma, Chaitanya Bishnoi, N Jagadeesan, Imran Tahir, KM Asif, Shardul Thakur, Ambati Rayudu, Mitchell Santner, Suresh Raina, Dhruv Shorey, Monu Kumar, Faf du Plessis, Sam Billings, Harbhajan Singh, Mohit Sharma, Shane Watson.
Kings XI Punjab: KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Murugan Ashwin, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Mohd Shami, Mandeep Singh, David Miller, Mayank Agarwal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Sam Curran, Chris Gayle.
Chennai Super Kings: Shardul Thakur, Scott Kuggeleijn/M Santner/Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Mohit Sharma/Harbhajan Singh/Karn Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Shane Watson, Kedar Jadhav.
#1: CSK’s making changes in their opening slot
Ambati Rayudu has been ordinary at the top with Shane Watson, he has failed to grab his opportunities which means Faf du Plessis could be opted in the squad at the expense of injured Dwayne Bravo and play as an opener.
Wicket-keeper: MS Dhoni
Batsmen: S Raina, Faf du Plessis, David Miller, Mayank Agarwal
All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, Sam Billings
Bowlers: Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman
Captain/Vice-captain here: Faf du Plessis, Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina
#2: If Chris Gayle gets to play
KXIP rested in-form Chris Gayle in the last game which saw Sam Curran opening the innings with KL Rahul. Here’s a team which will mark his return and what if he makes an impact straight away.
Wicket-keeper: KL Rahul
Batsmen: S Raina, Kedar Jadhav, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal
All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, Sam Billings
Bowlers: Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman
Captain/Vice-captain here: Chris Gayle, KL Rahul, Ravichandran Ashwin
#3: Spinners making an impact at the Chepauk
The slow turner at the Chepauk is known for its assistance to the spinners. Here’s a team which will largely focus on the spin options from either side who could emerge as the game changers.
Wicket-keeper: KL Rahul
Batsmen: S Raina, Shane Watson, David Miller, Mayank Agarwal
All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin
Bowlers: Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Murugan Ashwin
Captain/Vice-captain here: Imran Tahir, Ravichandran Ashwin, Murugan Ashwin, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman
#4: The least selected players from fantasy 11
Wicket-keeper: MS Dhoni
Batsmen: S Watson, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan
All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin
Bowlers: Shardul Thakur, M Ashwin, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman
Captain/Vice-captain here: Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson
Key players:
Kings XI Punjab:
Chennai Super Kings: