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CSK V/S KXIP (18TH Match ) Pre-Match Analysis (Today’s Match Prediction Dream 11 )
Head – to – Head
This is the part 2 of the Super Sunday in the UAE and it cannot get better than this! What a day we are having in the middle east in this Sunday double-header. After an exceptionally well played match in the noon we are set for another biggie for the evening so sit back and relax because this day just keeps getting better and better. It’s the CSK - Chennai VS KXIP - Punjab head to head against each other at the Dubai International stadium. In the last match we saw Dhoni panting and coughing throughout the end of his innings. This does not look good and the whole country is questions about his health. No one has ever seen Dhoni like this. Perhaps he was tired, maybe he was ill, whatever it was everyone watching the game was worried for him, his form, and his fitness. Chennai has had the worst start in this edition of all teams with a hat-trick of losses. The problem does not end here, Shane Watson is also not scoring, and CSK is finding it hard to find the right answers in all departments.
On the Other hand there is KXIP - Punjab who are struggling as well at the 7th spot but a win against CSK can boost them on the points table and send them to the upper half of the table. They did snatch a miraculous victory against DC - Delhi and then they also did pretty well against RR - Rajasthan and RCB before losing to the MI - Mumbai. Somehow, they have managed to stay afloat but they will have to win this one make sure they are on the right path going forward in the league.
Pitch Conditions
The match will be played at the Dubai International Cricket stadium. Here, Teams batting first have an upper hand generally. The pitch will be slow, but the ground is smaller, so both teams will look to earn some extra runs at the beginning.
Moreover, dew will also play an important factor so whoever wins the toss will look to bat first. The ball will spin which is good news for both the teams, given the fact that both teams have some really good spinners in their line-up.
Batting
CSK:
CSK will eagerly be waiting for the fitness report on their Skipper MS Dhoni and will cross their fingers hoping the star batsman is not unwell going forward in the tournament. If he performs in today’s match they would like to think,they have a chance. They also have a few other explosive batsmen in Faf Du Plessis, Shane Watson and Dwayne Bravo but Watson is not scoring. Kedar Jadhav provides some really good stability to the middle-order and of course there is Ambati Rayudu who can tackle the tail-end with Ravindra Jadeja. The tail is deep, and CSK knows that and will look to capitalize on it.
KXIP - Punjab :
Captain KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal has been in an exceptional form and they both bring in a lot of strength to the top order with Karun Nair backing them at number 3. Glenn Maxwell and Nicholas Pooran provide some power hitting in the middle but Pooran will have to better than what he is doing so far. James Neesham and Sarfaraz khan will add some stability at the tail and one of them will have to stick till the death overs to put pressure on the opposition.
Bowling
CSK :
Sam Curran is on the points table in the league with highest number wickets under his belt in the CSK camp and is in contention to win the purple cap at the end of the tournament. Piyush Chawla is looking good with newfound confidence in the CSK camp and will get a bit of help from fellow spinner Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore. Deepak Chahar has shown a lot of promise since the first match of the league and he will be matching steps with either Lungi Ngidi or Dwayne Bravo, both are looking in a decent touch this season. Imran Tahir has not found a spot in the team yet, people really want to know when he will come out in the yellow jersey, fans are missing his famous celebration.
Kings XI :
Mohammed Shami is leading the points table in this edition till now with the highest number of wickets under his belt and is a strong contender for the Purple cap when the tournament concludes, however these are still early days. Krishnappa Gowthamand Ravi Bishnoi are both exciting talents and are looking in good touch, they will have to learn how contain the batsmen and restrict the sixes and fours and they are good to go. Last but not the least Sheldon Cottrell has shown some sparks at the beginning and can destroy any batting attack on his good day. Punjab will be hoping he fires some guns today and does his famous celebration.
History
Both the teams have faced each other on 21 occasions in the IPL so far, and CSK holds a 12-9 head-to-head win record over KXIP. Chennai has three IPL titles, while KXIPis yet to win their first title and will like to change that this season. Both the teams hold a particularly good win percentage against each other even though CSK leads the stats and it will be interesting to see how they fare against each other in this edition.
Here are some interesting stats between the two:
• Matches won by KXIP: 9
• Matches won by CSK: 13
• Matched played in India: 19 (KXIP 8, CSK 11)
• Matches played in UAE: 1 (KXIP 1, CSK 0)
• KXIP average score against CSK: 160
• CSK average score against KXIP: 170
• Most runs for KXIP: 204 (Glenn Maxwell)
• Most runs for CSK: 525 (MS Dhoni)
• Most wickets for KXIP: 2 (Mohammed Shami)
• Most wickets for CSK: 14 (Dwayne Bravo)
• Most catches for KXIP: 2 (Glenn Maxwell)
• Most catches for CSK: 17 (MS Dhoni)
Probable Playing XI
CSK:
• Faf Du Plessis
• Ambati Rayudu
• Shane Watson
• MS Dhoni ( C & WK )
• Kedar Jadhav
• Ravindra Jadeja
• Sam Curran
• Dwayne Bravo
• Deepak Chahar
• Piyush Chawla
• Shardul Thakur
KXIP:
• KL Rahul (C & WK)
• Mayank Agarwal
• Karun Nair
• Glenn Maxwell
• Nicholas Pooran
• James Neesham
• Sarfaraz Khan
• Krishnappa Gowtham
• Ravi Bishnoi
• Mohammed Shami
• Sheldon Cottrell
Match Prediction :
Looking at both the line-ups on paper will tell you that CSK is looking much stronger than the latter but let’s not forget that they have lost their last three matches with the same outfit and they are barely looking like the team they are this season. Dwayne hasn’t made any major contribution yet, and Rayudu has come back from an injury. The bowling line-up has much to work on if we exclude Lungi Ngidi.
On the Other hand, KXIP will be high on confidence with convincing performances on their back even though they lost to Mumbai. All the players are looking in good shape. Especially KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal who will look to build on a strong partnership again. Glenn Maxwell is also in decent form so he may play a vital role for his team. The bowling department is also looking stronger with every match which is a good sign for them.
Sportswhoop’s pick for tonight : CSK - Chennai
Our fantasy pick for Dream 11 :
Disclaimer :
The predictions made above are merely based on an assumption of the author and are not a reflection of the actual points you may earn during the game.
