It was quite bizarre how the Chennai Super Kings, who even after nine games, and sitting in the third position, are still trying to find their best playing combination, according to their head coach Stephen Fleming. Before the CSK vs PBKS clash, Punjab Kings got the all-important belief back thanks to the highest chase of 263 runs in T20s.
With five wins in their nine games, of which four came in their five home fixtures, Chennai Super Kings position themselves at number three, with a net run rate of +0.810. However, their concern would be traveling outside their den, Chepauk Stadium, where they have just one win in four games so far in this IPL 2024.
For the Punjab Kings, after a victory in their opener of the season, they fell from the top to the bottom. Only two wins came in their next right affairs, between which they faced four successive defeats. With three wins in nine encounters, they are now at number eight with a net run rate of -0.187.
A win for the hosts in the CSK vs PBKS battle would keep their nose ahead for the playoffs in the IPL 2024.
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IPL 2024: CSK vs PBKS Playing 11- Match 49
One of the great signs for the defending champions is their inform captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, who on the back of a century and a 98-run knock has jumped up the ladder, to be the second-highest run-getter of the IPL 2024 currently with 447 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of close to 150.
CSK Playing 11:
Before their game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, one of the concerns for them was the form of their huge New Zealand singing of Daryl Mitchell, who had collected only 146 runs in seven innings. However, he smashed the SRH bowlers in various pockets of the ground to celebrate his maiden IPL fifty in just 32 balls.
Shivam Dube has been a boon for them in the middle order. The India all-rounder has smoked 186 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 153.72. When it comes to hitting sixes in the middle overs, Dube has the second most joint sixes (11), while before the CSK vs PBKS affair, his 26 sixes in this IPL 2024 is third most after Virat Kohli and Heinrich Klassen.
Tushar Deshpande has shown great improvements in his bowling. His 10 wickets have come at an economy of under nine.
CSK’s line-up vs PBKS: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (wk.), Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Mustafizur Rahman, Maheesh Pathirana. (Impact Sub: Tushar Deshpande).
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PBKS Playing 11:
Punjab Kings have been hit by the injury of their captain Shikhar Dhawan, who has injured himself for the last three weeks. It’s still not clear whether he would be fit for the CSK vs PBKS battle.
Even though Punjab showed great opening batting in their last game against KKR, before that clash, they struggled quite badly in that job.
Their 18.88 average of the top three before their away KKR fixture was the lowest among all the teams. While they managed just 453 runs in eight innings, only 15 sixes, the lowest among the ten franchises, came from those batters for the Punjab Kings, compared to 54 sixes, the best by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
PBKS line-up vs CSK: Prabhsimran Singh, Jonny Bairstow, Rilee Rossouw, Sam Curran (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk.), Shashank Sigh, Ashutosh Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Harshal Patel, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar. (Impact Sub: Arshdeep Singh).
The first CSK vs PBKS fixture of the IPL 2024 will take place on May 01, 2024, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.
