New Delhi: The 53rd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will see Chennai Super Kings (CSK) taking on Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Thursday. The encounter will take place at Dubai International Cricket Stadium at 3:30 PM. The match will be broadcasted live on Star Sports Network and Disney+Hotstar.
Chennai Super Kings are in a crucial stage sitting at the second position on the score table. Their loss at the last two matches against Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals has descended them from being top in the table. However, they will be trying their best to win today’s match against Punjab Kings to secure their position at the top. Meanwhile, they have won 9 matches out of 13 and are possessing 18 points. Besides, they have already qualified for the Playoffs.
On the other hand, it’s a must-win game for the Punjab Kings to secure their position at the Playoffs. Currently, they are sitting in the sixth position with 10 points on the table. In their last match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings lost by a margin of 6 runs. Batting first, RCB was limited to 164 runs while Punjab Kings though had a solid start could not keep up their performance till the last over.
Both the teams have played 25 matches against each other in the history of IPL. Chennai Super Kings have won 16 matches while Punjab Kings won 9 matches. Earlier in this season, CSK won by 6 wickets against Punjab at Wankhede Stadium.
IPL 2021: CSK v/s PBKS, Match 53
Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Match Date & Time: October 7 at 3:30 PM (IST) and at 2:00 PM (Local Time)
Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and Disney+Hotstar
Pitch Report:
The surface seems difficult for the batsmen as the wicket is more on the slower side. Spinners can come in handy in the middle overs. An average score of 146 is expected.
Probable Playing XIs for CSK v/s PBKS
Chennai Super Kings:
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina/Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Josh Hazlewood, Deepak Chahar.
Punjab Kings:
Lokesh Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Deepak Hooda/Sarfaraz Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Moises Henriques, Harpreet Brar, Mohammad Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh.
Top Picks for CSK v/s PBKS Dream11 Match:
Top Picks – Batsman
Ruturaj Gaikwad: One of the most dependable and stable right-handed batsman from Chennai Super Kings. So far, he is the second leading run-scorer in the tournament. He scored 521 runs off 13 matches including one century and 3 half-centuries.
Mayank Agarwal: A right-handed opening batsman from Punjab Kings. So far, he has mastered 429 runs with 2 half-centuries in the last 4 matches.
Top Picks – All-Rounders
Ravindra Jadeja: A left-handed batsman and right-arm off-break bowler from Chennai Super Kings. He has shown remarkable performance in this season. He has managed to pick 10 wickets at an economy of 6.75 and has scored 212 runs at an average of 70.66.
Moises Henriques: He proved his worth in the first match of the second leg by picking 3 wickets against RCB and scoring 12 runs.
Top Picks – Bowlers
Shardul Thakur: A right-arm medium-fast bowler from Chennai Super Kings who has repeatedly proved his worth whenever it was needed. He is the leading wicket-taker from the team. He has taken 15 wickets of 13 matches at an economy of 8.52.
Mohammed Shami: He performed remarkably in the second leg. He has scalped 10 wickets from the last 5 matches with the best figures of 3 for 21.
Top Picks – Wicketkeeper
Lokesh Rahul: He has been one of the consistent players for the last 4 years and recorded huge runs onboard. In 12 matches of this season, he has scored 528 runs at an average of 52.8 and a strike rate of 129.09. He is also known for being one of the best wicketkeepers IPL has this season.
