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IPL 2021 | PBKS vs CSK: Old horses come face to face against new challengers on the block

Both the Chennai Super Kings and the Punjab Kings have returned as improved teams after the last edition of the IPL where they could not make it into the final four. However, only the Kings could rule the conditions and a high-scoring game in Mumbai, while the Super Kings were dethroned by magnificent pair of Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan.

When KL Rahul and MS Dhoni would walk down the pitch for the toss, there will be a mix bag of emotions for the team that who have been asked tough questions in their last game.

As a welcome sign, the Super Kings were batting more freely in the middle phase of the game, which was a walk away from the tactics of the last IPL. Batsmen were buoyant in a revamped batting approach although they were rocked fairly early against the new ball.

Punjab, too, batted with fresh energy in the middle phase of the game and assigned the task of taking the game to an enraged Deepak Hooda, who batted like a man on the mission to destroy the opposition bowling attack.

As worrying factors, both Rahul and MS Dhoni would be precarious of their bowlers lacking in accuracy and dimensions of the ground. 

The Wankhede Stadium has appeared like a graveyard for all bowling attacks and both Rahul and Dhoni have had the tough task of enduring every bit of assault on their bowlers from behind the wicket.

Contrasting bowling attack: Who will emerge victoriously?

The Kings stacked their bowling attack with the rapid Australian duo of Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith in the last game while on the other hand, the Super Kings had Shardul Thakur as their fastest bowler on the park.

The result, however, was not any different as both Richardson and Meredith were taken to the cleaners by the Royals batsmen especially Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler, while Super Kings bowlers were driven, swept and demolished by the pair of Dhawan and Shaw.

The game between the sides is likely to be another high-scoring one and it is inevitable that one bowling attack will have the last laugh over the other in Mumbai.

Super Kings against the pace of Richardson, Meredith

The Super Kings batting effort was resurrected by Suresh Raina and Moeen Ali in the last game against the Capitals, but missing the point that Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje was out of action would be an unfair assessment.

Both Moeen Ali and Raina’s vulnerabilities against express pacers are known worldwide and along with the pace and bounce being offered by the pitch at Wankhede, the Kings will have a perfect arsenal in the form of Richardson and Meredith to exploit the number four and most successful batsman from the Super Kings line up.

If the Super Kings have to go past the Kings bowling attack, the Ali-Raina pair will have to come on top of the Australian duo. Whether they can do it, or otherwise, the contest is shaping to be a riveting one on a Friday night.

CSK’s conundrum on pace bowler

CSK coach Stephen Fleming readily accepted the fact that the Super Kings missed a pace bowler in the last game against the Delhi Capitals. 

With not too many options left on the bench after Josh Hazlewood’s pull out, the Super Kings will have to recall South African pacer Lungi Ngidi for his pace and skills with the new ball.

However, another option Dhoni-Fleming could ponder upon is the inclusion of Imran Tahir, who can bring a lot of variations in the bowling department and can prove to be the crucial factor in the middle phase of the game.

If Dhoni decides to take either of them into the playing XI, he would have to take a big call on choosing one among Faf du Plessis and Dwayne Bravo. Both have been stalwarts for the Super Kings in their glorious past, and hence the call will be a tremendous one for Dhoni to take.

A lot of money but no place for Gowtham

The Super Kings won a three-way intense bidding war against the Kolkata Knight Riders, and the Sunrisers Hyderabad to bring Krishnappa Gowtham in the side for a whopping Rs 9.25 crore.

The big purchase hinted that the Super Kings were in desperate need of having an off-spinner after missing Harbhajan Singh in the last season. 

However, Gowtham could not find a place in the playing XI in the first game of the season and the move established the talks that his inclusion was based on Super Kings playing half of their matches on slower and lower pitches in Chennai.

Out of two off-spinning all-rounders, Moeen Ali was preferred over Gowtham and he repaid the faith bestowed upon him by the team management. 

The trend is likely to continue for at least the next few matches as Dhoni has not been known as a captain who likes to make too many changes in the playing XI. 

Punjab Kings vs Chennai Super Kings: Match Details

Match Number-08

Date and Time: April 16, 07:30 pm IST, 02: 00 pm IST

Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Broadcast and Live Stream: Star Sports and Hotstar

Pitch and weather

The two matches played in the It is set to be another belter of a pitch at the Wankhede Stadium and both the skippers will have to rely on batsmen to utilise it to their maximum impact. 

There hasn’t been any help for the bowlers except for in the early half an hour phase of the game before dew sets in and batsmen will have the option of eyeing bigger targets while watching cautiously in the first half of the first innings.

Teams chasing have found themselves at the advantage of having a pitch that plays true to the full 20 overs, and bowing first has been the mantra for the team so far in the matches that have been played in Mumbai this season.

Team News

Punjab Kings

The Kings opted to change their last year tactic of delaying Chris Gayle’s entry in the IPL and the move paid off with the hard-hitting Jamaican taking the game to the Royals camp and setting the game up for the likes of Hooda to take off.

The Kings were bullish in their selection of the bowlers and picked a five-man attack comprising of four pacers and a solitary spinner in the form of Murugan Ashwin. The Kings will be weary of Super Kings’ batting against spinners and hence the decision of playing a pace-heavy bowling attack is likely to be continued at least for the next game.

There should be no change in the batting department either except for some last-minute hiccups.

Strongest XI

KL Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Jhye Richardson, Murugan Ashwin, Riley Meredith, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh

Chennai Super Kings

Lungi Ngidi should be ready to go in the game against the Kings but Dhoni will have to take a tough call so early in the tournament if he wants to add some pace in the bowling department that was demoralised by the Capitals in the last game.

In the batting department, Suresh Raina was held back to the number four position in order to provide Moeen Ali with a perfect platform to start his onslaught, and the tactical move will be persisted with in the next game as well.

Super Kings did not play a specialist spinner with the luxury of having the variety in the spin department from the likes of Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali and hence, spinners such as Karn Sharma will have to wait a little longer to get back in the reckoning.

Strongest XI

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Lungi Ngidi, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar

PBKS vs CSK: Dream XI/fantasy XI

Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Agarwal, Deepak Hooda, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Deepak Chahar, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith

Captain: KL Rahul

Vice-captain: Moeen Ali

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