Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will target a winning end to their Dream11 Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 campaign as they take on Kings XI Punjab in Match 53 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
CSK are coming into this game on the back of two successive wins (most recent first) - against KKR and RCB. On the other hand, KXIP, who are eyeing a place in the playoffs, saw their five-match winning streak broken against RR.
Remarkably, in the earlier part of the tournament none of the changes that CSK were making seemed to be working. However, it now seems that MS Dhoni has developed a Midas touch given the way the youngsters have stepped up for CSK. Ruturaj Gaikwad now has back to back half-centuries to his name and will be looking to build on the promise that he has shown.
As has been the case in the tournament so far, CSK flirted with danger against the KKR as well before Jadeja played a scintillating cameo to guide his team home. While Jadeja hasn't really done a lot with the ball this year, he certainly has stepped up his batting. He has perhaps been the only batsmen in the CSK's lineup who has managed to finish their innings with a flourish. CSK will any day take his form with the bat but will want Jadeja to do better with the ball as well.
CSK had been looking for perfection since their opening game and they found that with their back to back wins in their last two matches. Karn Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, and Mitchell Santner give MS Dhoni a lot of options in the middle-overs on the slowing surfaces, which MS Dhoni didn't have in the earlier part of the tournament.
Dhoni talked about giving opportunities to the youngsters and we might see yet another change in the playing eleven in the upcoming match. We might see KM Asif come in place of Deepak Chahar. That, however, will leave a huge void to fill in the bowling department and it will be interesting to see the lineup that CSK come out with.
Regardless of how they have performed in the tournament so far, the Super Kings will be brimming with confidence, largely because of the wins they posted in the last two matches. Ruturaj Gaikwad has appeared to be an incredibly settled player and is likely to have a vital role in the upcoming match as well. On paper, the Super Kings still have a decent team and with MS Dhoni at the helm of the things, they certainly cannot be discounted.
Despite the deflating loss, Kings XI Punjab still find themselves at the fourth spot on the ladder, but they'll know that have to play out of their skins to qualify from here. Besides, they had an opportunity to grab one of the top two spots, but with their recent loss, that opportunity has vanished.
The addition of Chris Gayle to the playing eleven has certainly made a tremendous difference to the balance KXIP have. They no longer appear to be lacking the intent in the middle-order with Chris Gayle there to hit the ball out of the park. However, KL Rahul will have to find a way not to decelerate after getting off to a start. KXIP have the services of Nicholas Pooran and Glenn Maxwell available in the lower middle order and that ensures that KXIP are never really short of fire-power, at least with the bat.
There were speculations of Mayank Agarwal featuring in the match against the Royals, but perhaps the management decided to allow Agarwal an extra bit of time to get back to his best. We expect him to be in the playing eleven in the upcoming match and Deepak Hooda might have to make way for Mandeep Singh, who will most likely drop to number six.
While it is Kings XI Punjab's batting that looks intimidating, it's actually been their bowling that has intimidated other teams in the last few matches. The spin pair of Ravi Bishnoi and Murugan Ashwin has been brilliant in the middle overs, and that, in fact, has allowed Kings to take control of the ship more often than not. With Mohammad Shami, Chris Jordan, and Arshdeep Singh bowling well, KXIP should be pretty confident with their bowling.
They have done remarkably well in their recent games and have often thrived under pressure. With the ultimate pressure of a playoff spot at stake, they'd need to keep their nerves against an experienced CSK unit, and if the Kings can do that, they'll be in for business.
Weather Conditions
It will be a little cooler evening in Abu Dhabi as compared to the rest of the month. The temperature is expected to hover between around 31 and 28 degrees during the match. Humidity will be around 45% and there's no chance of precipitation. A wind-speed of around 15km/h is expected.
Pitch Report
The pitch in Abu Dhabi during the day game has been sluggish and spinners have found plenty of purchase. There's been a clear trend in the morning games. In those games, the surface here has gone slower with every passing over and batting has been increasingly difficult. Of the matches in which the teams batting second won, the totals were way to under-par. This illustrates that if you have runs on the board, defending the totals will not be as difficult as in the evening games. As it is a day game, dew is not going to be a factor. Considering all that, the team batting first should be pretty happy with anything over 165 runs on the board.
Toss Prediction
The surfaces in the morning games tend to get slower and slower with every passing game. That can be a blessing for the team batting first only if they have runs on the board. While setting up the total will be difficult, we expect the captain winning the toss to bat first.
Head-to-Head and Stats:
Head to head: Matches Played: 23
Chennai Super Kings: 14
Kings XI Punjab: 9
Approaching Milestones
Shane Watson needs 10 sixes to complete 200 IPL sixes.
MS Dhoni needs six catches to complete 100 IPL catches for CSK.
Chris Gayle is 1 six away from completing 350 IPL sixes.
KL Rahul needs 107 runs to complete 2000 IPL runs for KXIP.
Likely XIs:
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shane Watson/Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (capt & wk), N Jagadeesan, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Karn Sharma, Lungi Ngidi
Kings XI Punjab: Mayank Agarwal/Mandeep Singh, KL Rahul (capt, wk), Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh
Players to Watch Out For:
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran
Kings XI Punjab: Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Mohammed Shami
Match Odds:
Kings XI Punjab: 1.80
Chennai Super Kings: 2.0
SantaBanta's Winner Prediction: Kings XI Punjab:
IPL 2020 Winner Live Odds:
Mumbai Indians - 2.25
Royal Challengers Bangalore - 5
Delhi Capitals - 5.5
Kings XI Punjab - 9
Sunrisers Hyderabad - 11
Rajasthan Royals: 17
Kolkata Knight Riders: 17
Match Venue: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Time: 3.30 PM IST
TV: Star Sports Network.
Live Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar VIP
