Squads –
CSK –
MS Dhoni (C & wk), Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, Faf du Plessis, Shardul Thakur, Mitchell Santner, Dwayne Bravo, Josh Hazlewood, Kedar Jadhav, Karn Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Ambati Rayudu, Lungi Ngidi, Sam Curran, Monu Kumar, Shane Watson, Sai Kishore, Narayan Jagadeesan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KM Asif, Ravindra Jadeja, Murali Vijay.
KKR –
Dinesh Karthik (c), Andre Russell, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Siddhesh Lad, Sunil Narine, Chris Green, Eoin Morgan, M Siddharth, Nikhil Naik, Pat Cummins, Rahul Tripathi, Tom Banton, Varun Chakravarthy
Team News –
CSK –
– After some poor batting performance CSK showed in the last game why they are called as the best team in IPL where they chased down 187 without loosing any wicket. Team will go unchanged this game.
– Shane Watson, Faf Du Plessis, Sam Curran and DJ Bravo will be their likely 4 foreign players.
– Shane Watson and Faf Du Plessis will open the innings. Both of them smashed unbeaten 183 runs to win of CSK with Watson scoring 83 and Faf 87.
– Ambati Rayudu will bat at 1 down. Rayudu is best player of spin in the CSK squad but when it comes to KKR he has a poor Average of 21.
– Kedar Jadhav and MSD will bat at 3 and 4 down respectively. Kedar is not contributing through bowl this season. Kedar has been in poor form.
– Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran will do the late hitting for CSK. Both Curran and Jaddu can be promoted. Jaddu scored 50 last 2nd game.
– Ravindra Jadeja and Piyush Chawla will be the spinners for CSK. Both the spinners have been out of form this season.
– Deepak Chahar, Sam Curran, Shardul Thakur and DJ Bravo will handle the pace attack. Chahar and Bravo will bowl in death.
KKR –
– Knight Riders lost a high scoring game against DC where they were poor with their bowling giving away 228 runs while almost chased it down loosing with just 18 runs.
– Shivam Mavi was hit by a ball last game and didn’t bowled much afterwards. If he has not yet recovered Prasidh Krishna will replace him.
– Shubman Gill and Sunil Narine will open the Innings for KKR. Gill has been brilliant with 2 back to back good innings. Narine’s form is a concern for KKR .
– Nitish Rana will bat at 1 down. Rana is a very attacking Batsman and was very consistent scoring 350+ runs last season. Rana scored 55 last game.
– English team t20 captain Eoin Morgan will bat 2 down. He is one of the best hitters in world cricket and was brilliant with his 18 ball 44 last game. He has been demoted many times.
– Andre Russell and Dinesh will bat in middle and be involved in finishing the game. Russell was promoted at 2 down. Kartik’s batting position is not fixed.
– Sunil Narine will lead the spin attack along with Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy.
– Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi/Prasidh Krishna, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Andre Russell will be likely leading the pace attack
Probable XI –
CSK –
Shane Watson, Faf Du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni(C & wk) , Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Shardul Thakur, DJ Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Piyush Chawla.
KKR –
Shubhman Gill, Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik (c, wk), Pat Cummins, Rahul Tripathi, K Nagarkoti, Sivam Mavi/Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy
Pitch Report –
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Pitches at Abu Dhabi are generally at the slower side giving assistance to spin more than pace in 2nd innings.
Average Score : 158
Head to Head –
Total games : 23
CSK Won : 14
KKR Won : 08
Team Blueprint –
WK –
MS Dhoni ( Middle order, best finisher in world cricket, averaging 83 last IPL with 416 runs, Must have especially in 2nd innings, his Batting position is not fixed, 22M 447R at Average of 67 against KKR, Must pick today )
Dinesh Karthik ( 1/3 down, had a decent IPL 2019 with 242 runs at a SR of 143, poor form this season, his batting order is not fixed)
BAT –
Shane Watson( Opener, highly experienced, will play solely as a Batsman, 398 Runs in 17 games last season, attacking 83* last game, Must have )
Faf Du Plessis( 1 down, international player, had a very good IPL with 396 Runs and scored 219 in 10 games in MSL 2019, 87* last game, Must pick)
Ambati Rayudu ( 1 down, 71 in 1st game, most imp player of CSK, just 86 runs in 4 games against KKR, Must have )
Eoin Morgan ( 2/3 down, English team t20 captain, 6000+ t20 runs in 271 games , 42(29b), 34(23b),44(18b) last ³ 3 games, very experienced, Must have )
Shubman Gill( Opener, very talented, can play big innings, 294 runs in 13 innings last IPL, 70*(62b), 47(34b) last 2 if 3 games , Must in batting section)
Tom Banton ( Opener, strikes the ball at 154 in t20s, very good form , 71,20,46 in 3 t20s against Pak, must have if plays)
Nitish Rana ( 1 down, very excellent domestic season along with 350 runs with SR of 143 last IPL, 26, 22,55 last 3 games, Must have, he may also bowl )
Kedar Jadhav( 2 down + 1-2 overs spin, can play , just 12R in 2 games against SRH, can be crusial if top order fails, out of form)
M Vijay ( Opener, experienced, 2500+ IPL runs with 2 100s on his name, not much a recommended pick in sL even if plays )
Ruturaj Gaikwad ( Opener/2 down, 848 runs in 20 t20 games , will likely not play)
ALL –
Andre Russell ( 3-4 down + 2-3 overs of pace, one of the best hitters in t20 cricket, 510 runs at SR of 202 in IPL 2019 also 11 Wickets with bowl , 2w + 13 runs last game)
Sunil Narine ( Open + off spin, mystery spinner, very experienced, 386 T20 Wickets with 10 in last IPL, failed with bat in both games, still Must have )
DJ Bravo ( Medium pacer , bats very low in IPL, best bowler for CSK, will Bowl in death, 8w in 11 games against KKR, must especially in 1st Innings)
M Santner( Slow left arm, excellent option in this spin conditions, will likely miss out )
Ravindra Jadeja( Slow left arm + finisher, 16 wickets + 106 runs in 15 games last season for CSK, 110 overall Wickets, 15M 14W against KKR)
Sam Curran( Left arm pacer + hard hitter of bowl, he can bat at any position, 5w this IPL, Must pick, can be promoted )
BOWL –
Imran Tahir( Leggie, Purple cao holder with 26 Wickets last season , didn’t played last game, Must have if plays )
Pat Cummins ( Pacer, world class bowler, 98 t20 wickets on his name, bowls at 145+ ks , wicketless very expensive with bowl last game, Must have)
Kuldeep Yadav ( Chinnaman, mystery bowler and a must have choice from KKR, 115 t20 Wickets in 92 innings, just 1w in 3 games, poor form, didn’t played last game )
P Krishna ( Pacer, raw pace, bowls upto 145ks, poor last IPL with just 4 Wickets in 11 games, good at 8cr ))
K Nagarkoti ( Pacer, bowls with an average pace of 144, 11 Wickets in 9 list A games, 1 Wicket last game )
Josh Hazelwood( Pacer, known for his swing early on, 4w in ODI series against Eng , will likely not play)
Deepak Chahar( Right Arm Swing bowler, death bowler for CSK, 35 wickets in IPL career, 2 Wickets last 2nd game )
Piyush Chawla( Leggie, 3rd highest wicket taker in IPL, 153w in 148 Innings, 1 wicket last game)
Shardul Thakur( Pacer, raw pace, 9w last IPL, economy rate is very high close to 10, 2w last game)
S Mavi( Pacer, 5 Wickets in IPL, eco in very high close to 10, 5 Wickets in 4 games , death bowler for KKR )
M Siddharth( Slow left arm, 5 Wickets in tnpl 2019, can also bowl in powerplay)
Varun Chakravarthy ( Leg spin, mystery bowler with lot of variations, 1 Wicket in last game )
C/VC Options –
CSK –
Faf Du Plessis
Shane Watson
Ambati Rayudu
KKR –
Andre Russell
Eoin Morgan
Sunil Narine
Shubman Gill