Chennai Super Kings will play against Punjab Kings in back-to-back games in IPL 2024. They first play at home in Chennai against the Kings on Wednesday, May 1st. The five-time champions are in third place in the points table.
CSK won their last game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, who have decimated their opening batting lineups so far this season. They found the chink in their armor and set a trap for them during the chase back home.
As a team, CSK recognizes the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses very well. The same was evident in their approach in the game against SRh. After two consecutive defeats against CSk, they found a way to get back to winning ways at home.
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So far, CSK has won four of the five home games. They are aiming for their sixth home win. This win could well give them second place in the points table.
CSK as a team doesn’t believe in the theory that much can change and after a convincing win over SRH, they want to stick with the same starting XI.
CSK plays 11 vs Punjab Kings – IPL 2024, Match 49
Ruturaj Gaikwad (C)
Gaikwad will open the batting against PBKS. He is fresh off a 98 against SRH and unfortunately missed out on his second century of the season. After a slow start to his 2024 IPL campaign, he is now the second-highest run-getter of the season with 447 runs from nine games.
Ajinkya Rahane
Rahane has not been consistent so far. He is now being tried as an opener, but that move hasn’t worked out so far either. Against SRH, he scored just nine from twelve balls.
Daryl Mitchell
Mitchell will fill in at three. He has scored runs at a high rate so far this season. He scored 198 runs in 8 games at a strike rate of 132.00 and got the job done at three.
Shivam Dubey
Dube will fill in at four. He has been particularly aggressive against spin this season. He has scored 350 runs in nine matches at a strike rate of 172.41 and hit 26 sixes.
Ravindra Jadeja
Jadeja has moved up the batting order many times this season. It worked for CSK in a few games. So far this season he has picked up five wickets and scored 157 runs.
Moeen Ali
Moeen Ali will step in at six. He doesn’t have many options with either the bat or the ball but is in the starting XI given CSK’s consistent performance. He would want to get his chance in the next game.
MS Dhoni (WK)
Dhoni will come in at seven. He hasn’t been sacked so far this season, striking out 96 with a near-.260 strikeout rate in just seven innings.
Deepak Chahar
Chahar will fill in at eight. He missed a few matches due to injury and has played seven matches so far, taking five wickets. Against SRH, he scored 22 in his three overs.
Tushar Deshpande
Deshpande has been CSK’s trump card in the IPL so far. He has picked up ten wickets in nine matches and picked up four wickets in his last game against SRH.
Mustafizur Rahman
The Fizz will come in at 10. He has also been a revelation for CSK this season, picking up 14 wickets in 8 games and is on par with Jasprit Bumrah. He took 2/19 against SRH where he started his IPL career.
Matheesha Pathirana
Pathirana decides the likely XI for CSK against PBKS. He took 2/17 against SRH and picked up 13 wickets in just six games, an average of almost two wickets per game.
Impact Sub Shardul Thakur
Thakur has been used as an impact sub in CSK’s recent games. They mainly use him as a bowling substitute, which has worked perfectly for them. He won 1/27 against SRH.
Also read: CSK vs SRH: Watch – Matheesha Pathirana destroys Aiden Markram’s stumps with yorker; The batsman was completely shocked