It will be a battle between two heavyweights of IPL 12 as Chennai Super Kings and the Kolkata Knight Riders meet in the 23rd match of the competition tomorrow. Both teams have won 4 out of their 5 matches and occupy the first two positions in the points table. Chennai Super Kings have been thoroughly professional in the tournament so far apart from a hiccup against the Mumbai Indians.
Kolkata Knight Riders have also played a terrific brand of cricket in the tournament so far. However, it has been largely possible due to the heroics of Windies all-rounder Andre Russell. His whirlwind knocks have allowed KKR to win at least two matches from the jaws of defeat. They could have won the match against the Delhi Capitals as well but a brilliant Kagiso Rabada did the job for Delhi in the Super Over.
Chennai Super Kings will be relaxed after both their openers Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis looked in great touch in their previous game against the Kings XI Punjab. Du Plessis who played his first game of the tournament looked in ominous touch and might well have cemented his place at the top of the order for the rest of the tournament.
Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming feels it won’t be the right thing for CSK to concentrate solely on Andre Russell as KKR also have some other talents in their ranks with the likes of Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana and Shubhman Gill who have all chipped in with useful contributions in the tournament so far.
Kolkata Knight Riders hope to win their 5th match and continue the momentum
One positive for KKR from the last match against the Rajasthan Royals as they strolled to victory without Andre Russell’s contribution which also gives some much-needed confidence for the KKR top order. The way the big man from Jamaica has whacked all the bowlers all around the park in the tournament so far, he could well turn out to be the Man of the Tournament and help KKR win their3rd IPL title.
Chennai Super Kings have by far been the most decorated side in the tournament. The injury sustained to Dwayne Bravo will be a matter of concern for the yellow brigade. However, they have some good replacements who can do the job for CSK. Scott Kuggeljin who made his debut the other day looked good and will play in the next few games in the absence of Bravo.
Date and Venue:
The match will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The stadium is also called Chepauk.
Pitch report:
The wicket in Chennai for the opening match of the tournament was pretty substandard. RCB were bowled out for just 70 runs and CSK had to fight hard to reach the target in the 18th over. We can expect to have a much better pitch as it is not a good advertisement for the game.
However, the pitch will still remain on the slower side. In the last match, Chennai made 175 against the Rajasthan Royals which goes onto prove that runs can be scored here. Even in the last match against the Kings XI Punjab, the Chennai wicket was again on the slower side as Punjab failed to chase down a competitive target.
Weather forecast:
Chennai has always been a place where players have found it difficult to play especially in the months of April, May and June. The only relief for the players is the match will be played from 8 pm unlike the previous clash against Punjab. Temperature is likely to hover around 33-34 degrees. No prediction for rain is there in the forecast.
Match Prediction
Both teams are playing at their best in the tournament so far and have won 4 games out of their 5 clashes. KKR and CSK will look to continue their winning momentum but I have a gut feeling that Kolkata Knight Riders will beat Chennai Super Kings in their den tomorrow. Hence I will go with KKR 60-40.