Abu Dhabi: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will face Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Sunday (November 1).
Despite being out of contention for a playoff spot, Chennai Super Kings have been late with two stunning wins over RCB and KKR. With a reconstructed strategy revolving around young talents such as Sam Curran and Ruturaj Gaikwad, CSK have a new-found balance to rely upon although it has come too late for them to rescue their season.
The team looks well-equipped at the moment, with MS Dhoni and co aiming for a third consecutive win to close out a disappointing IPL 2020 season. CSK’s rivals, Kings XI Punjab, who dwelled at the bottom spot in the points table for a long time in IPL 2020, are still in contention for a playoff spot, though.
While the KXIP top order duo of KL Rahul and Chris Gayle have fired in recent games, the team will be sweating over the fitness of Mayank Agarwal, who has been absolutely sensational for them in IPL 2020. Adding Chris Jordan and Mohammed Shami into the equation only boosts up the deal for KXIP, who will fancy their chances of a win against CSK in this IPL game.
The reverse fixture between the two sides earlier in this year’s IPL saw CSK demolished KXIP by ten wickets, with Shane Watson starring with the willow. However, a new-look CSK side could be in for a tough test against KL Rahul-led side, for whom this is a must-win game. With two valuable points up for grabs, we should be in for a riveting contest to kickstart the final double-header weekend of IPL 2020.
Squads:
Chennai Super Kings Squad: Shane Watson, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w/c), N Jagadeesan, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Karn Sharma, Lungi Ngidi, Faf du Plessis, Shardul Thakur, Josh Hazlewood, Kedar Jadhav, Imran Tahir, Piyush Chawla, Murali Vijay, Monu Kumar, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, KM Asif
Kings XI Punjab Squad: KL Rahul(w/c), Mandeep Singh, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Agarwal, James Neesham, Karun Nair, Krishnappa Gowtham, Sheldon Cottrell, Sarfaraz Khan, Hardus Viljoen, Jagadeesha Suchith, Ishan Porel, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Tajinder Singh, Darshan Nalkande, Simran Singh, Harpreet Brar
