KXIP aim to break losing streak against CSK

Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab will be desperate to put an end to the losing streak when they square off against each other at the Dubai International Stadium. Considering that there are so many jigsaw pieces on the floor for Chennai Super Kings to pick up and deal with the top and middle-order woes, the debate about MS Dhoni's batting position will continue to prevail. 

After a 7-run loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad, MS Dhoni stated that his team needed to tick a lot of boxes in order to get the desired results on the field. "We need to get a lot of things right. It is professionalism. We need to take our catches, not bowl no-balls. Those are controllable, and maybe we are getting too relaxed. Nobody wants to drop catches, but at this level, we need to draw a line and say these catches that need to be taken, especially when the team hasn't been doing well,” Dhoni was quoted as saying at the post-match presentation. 

KXIP find themselves languishing at the bottom of the table despite Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul performing exceedingly well. Having conceded runs at a startling rate of 16.91 in the closing overs, the death bowling department has been the primary reason behind their dismal show in the Dream11 IPL. Several eyebrows were raised about KL Rahul's captaincy when his move to hand the ball to K Gowtham in the 20th over proved costly against Mumbai Indians. 

The middle-order, containing the likes of Glenn Maxwell and Nicholas Pooran, haven't quite hit the straps, which is definitely a matter of concern for the team going into the tournament. One can expect KXIP to rejig the middle order with few notable changes in the playing eleven when they take on the MS Dhoni-led side on Sunday night. 

Match Details

Date: Sunday, 4 October

Venue: Dubai International Stadium 

Time: 7:30 PM (IST)

Head to Head 

Matches: 21

Chennai Super Kings: 12

Kings XI Punjab: 9 

Teams

Chennai Super Kings: Murali Vijay, Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Kedar Jadhav, Deepak Chahar, Piyush Chawla, Lungi Ngidi, Karn Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Imran Tahir, Shardul Thakur, Monu Kumar, Mitchell Santner, R. Sai Kishore, N Jagadeesan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KM Asif. 

Kings XI Punjab: Lokesh Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Glenn Maxwell, Nicholas Pooran, Karun Nair, James Neesham, Sarfaraz Khan, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Sheldon Cottrell, Ravi Bishnoi, Chris Gayle, Mandeep Singh, Chris Jordan, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Hardus Viljoen, Jagadeesha Suchith, Ishan Porel, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Tajinder Singh, Darshan Nalkande, Arshdeep Singh, Simran Singh, Harpreet Brar.