IPL 2020 | CSK vs KKR: Match Preview, Predicted XI & Dream 11 Fantasy Picks
Chennai Super Kings are out of the tournament and now they are on their way to destroy the chances of certain teams. Kolkata on the other hand have gobbled up- chances in a very lethargic manner, at times showing no interest at all in the game. It is therefore now a do or die moment for them. They have a chance to either win their games and qualify or go back home.
In their last game, Chennai have already given a shock to Royal Challengers Bangalore by beating them and not letting them qualify for the Playoffs. Therefore in this game, they would be looking to spoil the party of another team.
CSK looks like a complete team for the first time
Playing with three spinners in the last game, the Super Kings finally seemed to have had found the perfect 11 which would suit the conditions in Dubai. In the last game too, the team had played in Dubai only while Kolkata would be coming back from Sharjah, changing three tracks in three games.
Chennai have with them no baggage to go back to and therefore this game would see them going all guns blazing, meaning that Kolkata have a real danger with them.
Dinesh Karthik needs to prove he belongs
Dinesh Karthik in the last few matches hasn’t been able to perform up to the expectations of the team or the fans of the Knight Riders so far. Barring one match against Kings XI in which he scored 52 of 29 balls, the Tamil Nadu born hasn’t really been able to middle the balls real nice.
But as they say, big players need big stages and Karthik is a big player, therefore, it is just the apt stage for him to prove right the faith shown by the KKR management in him. With a total of just 118 runs in his last 10 innings with a dismal average of 13, Karthik is going through a really rough patch and he needs to come out of it, as soon as possible, if not for the team, then at least for his own sake.
Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders: Details
Match Number- 49
Date: 29th October 2020, at 7:30 PM IST, 06:00 PM Local, 2.00 PM GMT
Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Broadcast: Star Sports and Hotstar
Pitch Report
The pitch in Dubai seems to be helping spinners at least in the first innings with a bit of grip and the ball sticking into the wicket. In the second innings it flattens out and the dew helps it in the cause. After so many matches, it is natural that there would be wear and tear in the ground and that is getting reflected in the matches in terms of slow wickets with the tournament coming near to its end.
Weather and Toss
The weather always seems to be fine for cricket in Dubai. The evenings are a bit chilly as the humidity has gone out and the dew is the new feature in the game. With dew helping the chasing team and spinners getting help in the first innings, it is quite normal that a captain winning the toss would like to bowl first over here.
Team News
Chennai Super Kings
As evident from captain Dhoni’s response in the last game, he was happy with the way his team batted. The bowling department also looked slick. In such a situation, no change looks like the way to go for CSK until sand unless some unfortunate injury happens.
Expected XI
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, N Jagadeesan, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir, Monu Kumar
Kolkata Knight Riders
The Knight Riders have experimented a lot with their team combinations in the entire tournament. What they are lacking right now is a proper all-rounder since Andre Russell is not only injured but out of form too. In such a situation, Brandon McCullum and Morgan need to decide whether the six bowler policy needs a re-look or not.
They need to play a specialist batsman at number-6, maybe Rinku Singh, and then play either Prasidh Krishna or Kamlesh Nagarkoti, if Shivam Mavi is not fit.
Expected XI
Rahul Tripathi, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Lockey Ferguson, Kamlesh Nagarkoti/ Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy
Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders Dream 11 and team suggestions
Shubman Gill (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, MS Dhoni (wk), Sam Curran, Sunil Narine, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy, Imran Tahir
Captain: Sam Curran
Vice-captain: Shubman Gill