CSK vs KXIP Match Preview and Predication XI
Kings XI Punjab has everything to play for today. Their playoffs chances are on the line whereas there is nothing to lose for CSK. CSK will be looking to drag KXIP down along with them. Although a win today will not guarantee a top 4 finish for Punjab, they need to be on 14 points to give themselves a chance.
CSK – Positives Despite Finishing Last
CSK has been battered this season, both with the bat and bowl but in the last few matches, they have had stark performances by the youngsters. Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran are perhaps the biggest positives CSK can draw from this season. The team will bank on this trio to get them to 12 points, although their bad net run rate will still see them finish last
on the points table.
Msd – One Last Time!
No one knows when MS Dhoni will come onto the field again after the IPL finishes. All the cricket fans, except the KXIP ones will definitely want the vintage Dhoni performance one last time. Dhoni has been off-color this season and he knows what it’s like to hurt KXIP. He has done this to them previously in 2010 and he’ll look to do the same today as well.
Kl Rahul And Strike Rate
KL Rahul earlier in the tournament said that the strike rate in T20 is overrated but that statement has since come to bite him. In the last 4 games, his strike rates were 112, 112, 100 and 136. In the last game especially, KXIP should have gone past the 200 mark if he stepped on the gas and then the game would have been different. Maybe losing Mayank has him thinking and hence the curbed hitting but he can’t take no half measures today.
Sixes And More Sixes For Punjab
KXIP deals in sixes. The two Caribbean hitters, Pooran and Gayle have hit 25 and 23 sixes respectively. Whereas Pooran has taken 13 games to hit 25 sixes, Gayle has managed 23 in just 6 games. With this kind of hitting prowess, CSK will definitely look to omit one of Santner and Karn Sharma to curb the damage.
Toss Too Crucial In the last 6 games in Abu Dhabi, the teams chasing have won 5 times and in the last 10 games of the season, 8 times the results have come in the favour of the chasing side. With all this in perspective, the toss becomes very crucial in KXIP’s do-or-die game.
CSK vs KXIP Match Preview and Predication XI
CSK: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf Du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(c,wk), N Jagadeesan, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Mitchell Santner, Karn Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Lungi Ngidi
KXIP: KL Rahul(c,wk), Mandeep Singh, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, M Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami
DATE: 1st November, 2020
PLACE: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
TIME: 3:30pm IST
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