TACTICAL PREVIEW
Follow UsThere is good and bad news for Punjab Kings (PBKS). The good news is certainly that this game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has come just two days after their bowling unit conceded 257 runs in Lucknow and hence provides an opportunity to turn things around swiftly. The bad news though is that they have to take on CSK at Chepauk - a venue where they last tasted success in 2012.
For a team that has won over 71% of their matches at home, they start overwhelming favourites but as Rajasthan Royals (RR) showed earlier this season, the fortress can indeed be breached. It's just a question of whether Punjab can bounce back from a heavy loss to do that.
While CSK too go into this game after being crushed by RR in Jaipur, they will be glad that they have a chance to get back to winning ways at home.
Things to watch out for
Rahane kryptonite
While Ajinkya Rahane has absolutely murdered pacers this season, scoring at a strike-rate of 245.1 against them - the best among batters who have faced at least 50 deliveries - he has shown his weakness against the spinners. While he has struck at 147.76 against them this season, all his five dismissals have come against them, averaging under 20.
A change in approach has been one of the cornerstones of his success. More often than not, he has taken on the bowling right from the outset and as his innings has progressed, he has looked more destructive than the previous ball.
This will be a terrific opportunity for the batter to improve his record against Punjab Kings, against whom he has averaged under 16 and struck at just 115 in the IPL since 2018. Rahane stunned the world with an attacking 71* off 29 against Kolkata. Can he play another blinder at Chepauk, a venue that would favour spinners?
Conway loves Chepauk
Devon Conway has been in terrific form in the IPL, more so when he has played at Chepauk. The reason for that has been the fact that he has understood the nature of the pitch very quickly and has shown equal disdain be it against the pacers or spinners, striking in the range of 140 against both.
Conway has scored 47 (29), 50 (38) and 77* (57) in the three innings so far. Moreover, he and Ruturaj Gaikwad have piled on 352 runs for the first wicket - the fourth highest in the competition, which includes as many as three 50-plus stands.
PBKS bowling continues to struggle
Punjab Kings have let the game slip especially in the middle-overs and the death. In overs 7-15, they have picked up just 15 wickets which is the least in the competition so far. To add to their woes, they have the second worst economy rate (8.8) and are the worst team when it comes to average (42.3) and strike-rate (28.8).
Sam Curran has been poor in this phase, especially with an economy rate of 11.6 and strike-rate of 42.
If you think their problems are lesser at death, think again. They have conceded at an economy rate of 11.1 in over 16-20 this season, with their premier fast bowler Kagiso Rabada leaking runs at 15.5 an over at this stage.
Ground details
The MA Chidambaram Stadium is where the spinners are traditionally known to have a huge say and this season is no different. The spinners have struck once every 20.3 runs, 16 deliveries apart and have conceded just 7.6 an over - numbers that are overwhelmingly better than the fast bowlers.
The average first innings score here has been 175 and in all the three matches so far, the captain winning the toss has opted to bowl first. However, it has backfired as the teams batting first have gone on to win two out of the three times. With both spinners possessing quality spinners, this will certainly be a contest you would not want to miss.
Tactical nous
Ruturaj Gaikwad has struck at close to 150 in IPL 2023, and hence his wicket at the top becomes extremely vital. He gets off the blocks quickly and tends to dominate in the powerplay. However, it will be challenging when he comes up against Rabada early. The Punjab pacer has dismissed the CSK opener thrice in T20s and has managed to contain Gaikwad to a strike-rate of under 120.
If he survives Rabada, Gaikwad will have someone like Rahul Chahar and Liam Livingstone to contend with. He has fallen to leg-spinners thrice already this season, scoring at an average of 14.3 and strike-rate of 126.5. If PBKS play their cards right, they can very well get the better of Gaikwad early.
Team combination
Punjab Kings
After the loss to LSG, PBKS skipper admitted playing an extra bowler backfired. He has a chance to rectify this this time around. Given that this is Chepauk, he could consider bringing in orthodox spinner Harpreet Brar in place of fast bowler Gurnoor Brar. If that were to happen, we could see either Matthew Short or Bhanuka Rajapaksa fit into the XI ahead of Sikandar Raza.
Probable XI: Atharva Taide, Shikhar Dhawan (c), Sikandar Raza/Matthew Short/Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh
Chennai Super Kings
CSK though have three quality spinners - Ravindra Jadeja, Maheesh Theekshana and Moeen Ali - up their ranks. They could very well go in with the same team that lost to RR in the previous game.
Probable XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana, Akash Singh
