Stage set for war of the Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium as CSK host PBKS

In an explosive encounter to kickstart a blockbuster double-header that will set the tone for Sunday, fourth-placed Chennai Super Kings will be battling it out against sixth-placed Punjab Kings in a nail-biting affair that could result in a significant shuffle across the points table.

Chennai Super Kings will be coming into this fixture after a defeat against the Rajasthan Royals in a high-scoring encounter. Albeit in a losing cause, Shivam Dube’s 33-ball-52 combined with an early charge from Ruturaj Gaikwad saw Chennai coming close to the finish line but at the end of it all, they would eventually have to return empty-handed.

Punjab Kings had a forgettable outing a couple of days ago as they were up against the Lucknow Super Giants and what followed thereafter was nothing short of an ignominy. Their bowlers conceded the second-highest total in the history of the IPL while Atharva Taide’s 36-ball-66 was the solitary beacon of hope for a sinking Punjab ship.

This will be a crucial encounter for both sides considering the nip and tuck battle for the higher rungs of the points table. If Chennai manages to secure a victory they will equal the tally of the Gujarat Titans with 12 points but a defeat at the hands of the Punjab Kings will allow the latter to climb in the top five with Chennai’s hopes of standing out amongst the lot taking a hit.

Head to head:

Matches played: 27

CSK: 15

PBKS: 12

Match Details:

Match: Chennai Super Kings vs Punjab Kings

Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

Date: 30th April, 2023

Time: 3:30 PM

Squads:

Chennai Super Kings:

MS Dhoni (c & wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Shaik Rasheed, Subhranshu Senapati, Ben Stokes, Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Nishant Sandhu, Bhagath Verma, Ajay Mandal, Deepak Chahar, Sisanda Magala, Matheesha Pathirana, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki, Tushar Deshpande.

Punjab Kings:

Shikhar Dhawan(c), Prabhsimran Singh(w), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Nathan Ellis, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Rishi Dhawan, Matthew Short, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Atharva Taide, Mohit Rathee, Shivam Singh, Raj Bawa, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Kagiso Rabada, Baltej Singh.