IPL 2024: Today, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders will clash at MA Chidambaram Stadium. KKR aims to extend their winning streak, while Chennai seeks to avoid their third defeat.
(08:04): CSK has played four matches in IPL 2024, winning two under Ruturaj Gaikwad’s leadership against Gujarat Titans and Royal Challengers Bangalore, but losing to Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Meanwhile, KKR has won all three of their matches and ranks second in the points table with a net run rate of +2.518. Despite two losses, CSK is in third place with an NRR of +0.517. Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra need to step up their game for CSK, especially in providing good starts during powerplays. Gaikwad has been consistent with a strike rate of 118.91, while Rachin has struggled in the last two matches. Shivam Dubey has been in good form for Chennai, scoring 148 runs at a strike rate of 160.86. There’s speculation whether Sameer Rizvi will get a chance in the playing 11, after scoring 14 runs against Gujarat Titans but failing to score against Delhi Capitals.
Bowling Weakness Exposed
In the last match, CSK’s bowling vulnerabilities were evident as fast bowlers Mustafizur Rahman and Mathisa Pathira were absent. Should they miss the upcoming match against KKR, CSK will need to strategize their replacements. The fast bowling duties will likely fall on Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, and Mukesh Chaudhary.
Key Player: Narine-Raman of KKR
Sunil Narine’s promotion to opening batsman has proven advantageous for KKR. CSK faces the challenge of dismissing Narine early. Phil Salt’s support to Narine at the start has further bolstered KKR’s batting. Shreyas Iyer and Ramandeep Singh have displayed consistency in the middle order, while Andre Russell and Rinku Singh have impressed with their batting prowess.
Pitch Report: CSK vs KKR
The match will take place at MA Chidambaram Stadium, known for its slow pitch. However, in this season’s two matches, the pitch has favored batsmen. Chennai chased 174 runs against Bengaluru here, while CSK scored 206 runs against GT. Out of 78 IPL matches at MA Chidambaram Stadium, the team batting first has won 47 matches, while the chasing team has won 31 matches.
Head-to-Head: CSK vs KKR
CSK and KKR have faced each other 29 times, with CSK winning 18 matches and KKR winning 10. CSK’s highest score against KKR is 235 runs, while KKR’s highest score against CSK is 202. CSK has won 3 of the last five matches between the two teams.
Probable Lineups:
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dubey, Sameer Rizvi, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mustafizur Rahman.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Phil Salt (wk), Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Andre Russell, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy.
Dream11 Team:
Wicketkeeper: Phil Salt Batsmen: Ruturaj Gaikwad (vc), Shreyas Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ajinkya Rahane All-rounders: Sunil Narine (c), Shivam Dubey, Andre Russell Bowlers: Mitchell Starc, Deepak Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy.
