In the 49th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will lock horns with Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai tonight at 7:30 PM IST.
CSK have won five of their nine games so far and are third in the points standings. The unit will strive to finish in the top two, and in order to do so, it must rack up as many points at home as possible. While Ruturaj Gaikwad and Daryl Mitchell are providing promising starts, the team also needs Ajinkya Rahane to do well. Shivam Dube is in top shape and doesn’t need to be told what to do. The lower middle-order has not been challenged much in the recent few games, but the unit would not be concerned since MS Dhoni is also scoring crucial runs at the latter stage of the innings. Moreover, CSK managed to all out their opponents in their last game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), for which major credit goes to Tushar Deshpande, Mustafizur Rahman, Matheesha Pathirana, and the rest of the team, who will strive to replicate that performance.
On the other hand, PBKS had one of the best outings with the bat in the last match against KKR, chasing 262 comfortably in 18.4 balls. Playing without its skipper, Shikhar Dhawan, the unit saw some fantastic hits from Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, and Shashank Singh. Only Rilee Rossouw had a strike rate below 200. It’ll be intriguing to see whether they have the same mindset with the bat at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. With the ball too, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, and Rahul Chahar are doing well, but surely PBKS will need more from their bowlers to keep CSK quiet.
Head-to-Head:
The two teams faced off against one another 28 times, with Chennai winning 15 matches and Punjab winning 13. In the previous meeting between the two teams, PBKS triumphed by four wickets.
Where-to-Watch:
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