The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League has trickled into the third month and although there are only three days remaining for the completion of the round-robin phase, there is only one team which has qualified while six are vying for three spots with only one side Chennai Super Kings out of contention. The match on this Sunday afternoon will be between the Chennai Super Kings and the Kings XI Punjab and the story and stakes could not have been any starker than the teams will have going into this match.
Of both the teams, the Kings XI have a lot to lose in this game, especially after a heavy defeat at the hands of the Rajasthan Royals and being stuck at just 12 points from 13 games although they were on a rampage in which they continued their winning streak for 5 games on the trot. The teams find themselves in precarious situations with three of them - the Kings XI Punjab Rajasthan Royals and the Kolkata Knight Riders are equal with 12 points each from 13 games while the Sunrisers have 10 points but they have an opportunity to reach the 14 points-level that is a key figure looking at the current situations in the league.
Kings XI captain KL Rahul has been in superb form throughout the season and hold place way above the rest in terms of total runs scored in the tournament but he has been receiving a lot of flack for batting too conservatively that has hampered the Kings XI from posting huge totals instead of the total that the team posted in the last game against the Royals. Ben Stokes, Robin Uthappa, and Sanju Samson scripted a fabulous run chase and must have provided a template for the Kings XI Punjab on how to maintain tempo throughout the innings.
The Kings XI were left flummoxed by an ultra-aggressive batting by the Royals batting line up and the bowling attack could not quite recover from the early jolt. KL Rahul would have to inspire his men to get it right for just one game and then to take it from there. Punjab have also suffered greatly due to the absence of Mayank Agarwal who was taking care of the run rate when KL Rahul used to anchor the innings and the team would dearly hope for his return in what promises to be a most-vital clash of the team in the season.
On the other hand, the Chennai Super Kings have nothing to lose in the tournament having been knocked out of the tournament already but the MS Dhoni’s side can easily prove to party spoilers for the teams as they have been for the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their last matches.
The fact that the team has been knocked out has helped the players in breaking the shackles and MS Dhoni has kept his promises by inducting young blood in the playing XI and to youngsters' credit, they have shown enough sparks to show the CSK management that there is no shortage of light at the end of the tunnel and the next seasons.
Ruturaj Gaikwad has shown that he is a talent to be invested upon and that MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming might well have missed a trick by not allowing him to open in the early phase of the tournament. Ravindra Jadeja has unleashed his best version as a batsman and been in superb form with the bat at the lower down the order and showing the world that he is ready to take the mettle from MS Dhoni in terms of finishing the games for the men in yellow.
The game could well be the final swansong for the senior players of the team such as Imran Tahir, Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson and also may be of MS Dhoni and the team will look to leave no stone unturned to send them on a high more so after a fairly poor season this year.
Match Number- 53
Date: 30th October 2020, at 3:30 PM IST, 02:00 PM Local, 10.00 AM GMT
Venue: Abu Dhabi
Broadcast: Star Sports and Hotstar
The Chennai Super Kings and the Kings XI Punjab will lock horns on a new pitch and it may well bring the impressive new-ball bowlers on both sides such as Mohammed Shami in the Kings XI camp and Deepak Chahar in the Super Kings lineup into the game.
But, the new ball has not swung too much in the IPL and no one really expects the Kookaburra to swing for long and rather it can enable stroke makers on either side to take the full advantage of the fielding restrictions in the early part of the game.
The weather in the day time is expected to be on the hotter side and it will play on the captains’ mid while walking out for the toss and it will be no brainer to bat first looking at the overhead conditions but the dew factor may also be a bit of conundrum for the captains.
Captain MS Dhoni had made the Chennai’s plans clear before the team was officially knocked out of the race to the playoff and since then he has added many players who can be seen as the future of the franchise in the coming few seasons.
Mitchell Santner, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sam Curran and Narayan Jagadessan could well be the future core of the franchise and MS Dhoni would love to see them starting to blossom before he hangs up his boots.
It’s unlikely that MS Dhoni will make any changes for the last game of the season and that will provide a longer rope for Santner to prove his utility as a spin-bowling all-rounder beside the presence of Ravindra Jadeja in the squad.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (captain & wk), N Jagadeesan, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Karn Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Lungi Ngidi
This game is a do or die situation for the Kings XI and they would be looking forward to putting all their might for one final time in the tournament because one off-day may send them packing from the tournament. KL Rahul will have to relook at his strike rate rather than dismissing it as an overrated aspect of his game.
Glenn Maxwell has been persisted throughout the tournament so far and he needs to step up against the CSK to justify a long rope from the management while his bat has been silent in the IPL 2020 so far.
The team has missed Mayank Agarwal dearly at the top and his return will see Mandeep Singh go out of the squad who has not had the best of time in the IPL with few good innings here and there while suffering the loss of his father during the tournament.
KL Rahul (Captain & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh
KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Lungi Ngidi, Deep Chahar
Captain: KL Rahul
Vice-captain: Sam Curran
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