IPL 2021: PBKS v CSK preview

The season could easily have begun in similar fashion for both Punjab Kings and Chennai Super Kings, but a Sanju Samson masterclass didn’t end well, and Punjab sit pretty with a win in their kitty. Chennai, meanwhile, copped a loss early on and there are already signs saying that the Wankhede surface isn’t to their liking.

Despite the odd first game, both sides had positives to take away. Chennai had Suresh Raina returning with aplomb and Sam Curran and Moeen Ali showing excellent intent. Punjab found a hero in the death in Arshdeep Singh and had a more proactive KL Rahul at the top. Their Deepak Hooda experiment came off spectacularly well and that batting line-up looks daunting.

Check hereto know where to watch IPL 2021

Team news

CSK: The MS Dhoni-led side will likely have Lungi Ngidi available for this game, prompting a couple of changes. Ngidi will likely step in for Faf du Plessis with Ambati Rayudu pushed back to open the innings with Ruturaj Gaikwad. They might also ponder swapping out Dwayne Bravo for a leggie in Imran Tahir.

PBKS: Punjab Kings will mostly stick to their four overseas players and the bowling-heavy XI for this game too, especially after the success of their batting line-up against Rajasthan. The one swap they might make is moving out Murugan Ashwin for Ravi Bishnoi, who was bizarrely sat out first game.

Know you IPL calendar by checking out the schedule here.

Pitch and weather

The Wankhede surface seems flat with plenty of runs on offer and the team winning the toss will likely want to bat second and make use of the excessive dew on offer. Temperature is likely to go from the early 30s to late 20s by night. There’s a 10% chance of precipitation with humidity, as high as 62%, expected to aid dew again.

Read the PBKS v CSK Dream11 fantasy preview here.

PBKS v CSK Predicted XI

PBKS: KL Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Shahrukh Khan, Jhye Richardson, Murugan Ashwin, Riley Meredith, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh

CSK: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar