🏏IPL 2023: Match 41 - CSK vs PBKS on 30/04/2023 at 3:30 PM IST 🏏

🏏IPL 2023: Match 41 - CSK vs PBKS at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on 30/04/2023 at 3:30 PM IST 🏏

IPL Match number 999

Tag & Logo Credit: Sevenstreaks

CSK and Punjab Kings look to bounce back from heavy defeats

Only two points separate the teams, though they are in different halves of the points table

Can the Kings storm CSK's fortress?

Both Punjab Kings and Chennai Super Kings are coming off defeats in high-scoring contests. The Kings were hammered by Lucknow Super Giants in Mohali, while CSK were comprehensively beaten by Rajasthan Royals amid chants of "Dhoni, Dhoni" in Jaipur.

While CSK were on a three-match winning streak before that defeat, Punjab have not been able to string together two victories since their first two games. This is the first meeting between these sides this season, and CSK start favourites in their home fortress.

While Chepauk has been a high-scoring venue this season, MS Dhoni banks on his spinners for control, and the Kings haven't had a terrific record against spin since last season. Their batters have the lowest average (20.07) and strike rate (116.76) against spin. Their two most experienced batters, Shikhar Dhawan and Liam Livingstone, do not go hard against spin: they strike at around 123 against spinners in the IPL.

The Kings also have a pace-heavy attack, unlike CSK, which may not be best suited to Chepauk, and they will hope that their world-class attack of Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh and Sam Curran can rise above the conditions. Rahul Chahal, their lead spinner, has taken only two wickets this season, and their other spin-bowling options are Harpreet Brar, Sikandar Raza and Livingstone.

CSK are in the top half of the table and the Kings are in the bottom half, but only two points separate the sides after eight games.

Form Guide (last five matches, most recent first)

Chennai Super Kings LWWWL 

Punjab Kings LWLWL

Team News

CSK continue to wait on Stokes and Chahar

The news from the CSK camp is that Ben Stokes and Deepak Chahar are not yet fit enough to play. Stokes has played only two games this season, while Chahar has played three.

Pitch and conditions

Humidity aside, partly cloudy conditions and some rain is forecast for Chennai.

Stats that matter

• Arshdeep has dismissed Ruturaj Gaikwad twice in 13 deliveries in the IPL. Rabada has also dismissed him twice in four games.
• While Livingstone has scored at 194 against pace in the IPL, he slows down considerably against spin, scoring at 123 and averaging 25.8.
• CSK's fast bowlers have been the most expensive in the powerplay this season, conceding 10.1 runs per over.
• Kings have the lowest average (17.3) for the opening wicket this season.

Thank you, Raji, for the thread and for tagging me.  

Best wishes to both the teams and to all the supporting members. 

Punjab Kings are in a tricky territory. They did begin their campaign in style by winning their opening two games but since then, they have managed only two wins out of six. Given how the race for a top-four finish is getting trickier with each passing day, they cannot afford to keep slipping. The last thing they would have wanted in such a scenario is a trip to Chennai and take the field less than 48 hours from their previous encounter that ended in a defeat. Such is the nature of the schedule that PBKS will get into this game without a practice session at a venue where not many visiting teams end up on the winning side.

While the scores have been better than anticipated initially at Chepauk so far this season, the last game against Sunrisers Hyderabad had enough indications of spin slowly making headlines again. CSK's spin trio of Maheesh Theekshana, Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja will prove to be quite a handful against a free-flowing batting lineup that predominantly thrives on good batting surfaces. Their skipper Shikhar Dhawan has made a timely return to the XI to bolster that batting lineup but the young Indian trio of Prabhsimran Singh, Atharva Taide and Jitesh Sharma won't have it easy given it's a day game which takes the dew factor out of the equation.

Even on the bowling front, PBKS will have to rely on their spin attack to keep them in the game. Rahul Chahar hasn't picked a wicket in his last five games and has only two scalps to his name overall in the tournament so far. Conditions will allow him to break the rut but can he make it count? PBKS will also hope that Sikandar Raza the bowler comes to the party finally.

From CSK's perspective, they will be looking at this game to quickly return to winning ways after losing to Rajasthan Royals for the second time this season. That batting order has the ability to push the total beyond the par score and the bowling unit is starting to deliver despite the setbacks they have suffered due to injuries. Plenty of players had an off colour day at Jaipur but the overall form guide and the conditions make CSK absolute favourites on Sunday.

What to expect: This will be the first day game of the season in Chennai and as a result, both captains won't have to worry about dew. CSK generally prefer chasing but batting first is definitely not a bad idea if the teams are presented with a slowish track. The game could be interrupted by a bit of rain at noon but the forecast isn't threatening enough.

Team Watch

Chennai Super Kings

CSK are expected to stick with the same side. Ben Stokes and Deepak Chahar are still not ready.

Probable XI: Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (C&WK), Tushar Deshpande, Matheesha Pathirana, Maheesh Theekshana, Akash Singh

Tactics & Matchups: Ambati Rayudu might not have had a huge say so far as an impact player but his presence could prove to be crucial against Rahul Chahar given his numbers against the leggie, who otherwise has pretty good record against most of the CSK batters.

Punjab Kings

Sikandar Raza is expected to hold onto his spot with his bowling expected to come in handy. Harpreet Brar wasn't in the XI last time but is expected to return on Sunday.

Probable XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Atharva Taide, Liam Livingstone, Sikandar Raza, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

Tactics & Matchups: If the conditions are indeed slow, Dhawan is PBKS' best bet to tackle Jadeja given his excellent record against the left-arm spinner. Dhawan's SR against Jadeja is over 140 and he has been dismissed by the allrounder only once in the IPL in the last decade.

Did you know:

- Rahul Chahar has a good record at Chepauk, picking 11 wickets in 7 games so far at an excellent ER of 6.14

- Shikhar Dhawan has over 6000 runs in the IPL. 1029 of those have come against CSK