IPL 2021, CSK vs KKR: Here is the match preview
Chennai Super Kings will take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the afternoon match of Sunday's double-header in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season. The Yellow Army are leading the points table, while KKR have commenced their UAE leg with a bang. Both teams have claimed two massive victories against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians respectively. Here is the match preview.
Pitch report and TV listing
The Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi will host the match which begins at 3:30 PM IST. The wicket here has favored both batters and bowlers so far. Notably, the surface can be two-paced in certain phases. One can watch the match live on the Star Sports Network and stream the same on the Hotstar app (paid subscription).
A look at the head-to-head record
CSK have had the wood over KKR in the head-to-head meetings. The two teams have clashed in 23 matches, with CSK winning 15 of them. They have a win percentage of 65.22 against KKR. Meanwhile, KKR have managed to win eight games (win percentage: 34.78). Notably, CSK have won four of the last five encounters against KKR.
Here are the top performers
Raina has smashed 818 runs from 25 games at a strike rate of 136.33 against KKR. On the bowling front, Karn Sharma has taken 17 wickets with the best bowling performance of 4/16. Against CSK, Karthik has aggregated 552 runs at a strike rate of 128.37, while Narine has picked up 15 wickets with the best match haul of 2/14.
CSK have played a strong brand of cricket
CSK have maintained their strong form post IPL's resumption, beating MI and RCB comfortably. They are the deserved toppers at the moment and it will take something special to stop them. In the first phase as well, CSK did a good job and produced consistency. Dwayne Bravo is bowling well and is amongst the wickets. Ruturaj Gaikwad holds the key with the bat.
KKR aiming to topple CSK in Abu Dhabi
KKR have played both their matches in Abu Dhabi in the second phase and earned handsome wins. It's so fresh to see the batters come out with purpose. Venkatesh Iyer has brought in the freshness. KKR's top-order will hold the key in how they plan their innings. With the ball, the spinners have chipped in and pacer Lockie Ferguson has looked sharp.
A look at the probable XI of both sides
CSK probable XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (captain and wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood KKR probable XI: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (captain), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy, Prasidh Krishna
