IPL 2021 | CSK vs KKR: Reviving Kolkata face uphill task against consistent Chennai

If ‘revival’ was a Bollywood movie, Kolkata Knight Riders would have been the front-runner for grabbing the lead role. The Eoin Morgan-led side has just been one dominant force in this second leg of IPL 2021 beating heavyweights like Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians with convincing margins. 

They just made a mockery of the star-studded RCB batting line up and then hammered MI bowlers all around the park to notch up a second win in the second match in the second half of the competition. 

But just like every Bollywood hero who faces some problems during the course, KKR too have an uphill task as they now play Chennai Super Kings in the next fixture in Abu Dhabi. 

The Chennai side has been on song throughout the tournament in this edition having won seven out of the nine matches that they have played so far which includes thumping wins against MI and RCB. 

The Super Kings had some early hiccups during the clash against Mumbai when they were reduced to 24/2 but Ruturaj Gaikwad’s unbeaten knock of 88, Ravindra Jadeja’s responsible innings and a late surge from Dwayne Bravo helped them post a decent total. Later, the bowlers did the job and restricted MI to 136/8 in 20 overs. 

Chennai were next up against Virat Kohli’s RCB. The Bangalore team was off to a steady start after Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal put up 111 runs for the first wicket but the Chennai bowlers pulled back the things in a brilliant manner and RCB could only manage to score 156/6 in 20 overs eventually. Later, the batsmen did their job and won the match for the side by 6 wickets and 11 balls to spare. 

This will be the second time when KKR will be playing CSK. The two teams met each other in a high-voltage drama in Mumbai during the first leg. CSK posted a mammoth 220/3 in 20 overs while KKR witnessed a batting collapse in the early stage of the chase but some fine piece of batting from Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell and Pat Cummins scripted brilliant fightback for them. 

The Knight Riders though eventually lost the match but managed to cross the 200-run mark despite being left tottering at 31/5 at one stage. 

Match Details:

Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Match 38

Venue: Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Date & Time: September 26th at 3:30 PM IST, and at 2:00 PM local time

Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and Disney+Hotstar

Pitch report

The track is likely to provide some help to the bowlers especially in the initial phase of the game. The spinners might have something on offer in the later stage. So, if you win the toss, elect to bowl first and try and restrict the opposition for a lesser total. 

Andre Russell vs Dwayne Bravo

The two West Indies giants would be up against each other in the clash on Sunday. The talent that these two all-rounders possess is just an asset to their respective teams. 

While Bravo has proved his worth with both bat and ball in the second leg as well, Russell was clinical against RCB with the ball but was expensive against the Mumbai Indians team. 

Bravo’s slower ones in the death overs has fetched him wickets in number and the CSK team management and Dhoni himself would want him to continue with what he has been doing for ages now. 

Russell’s consistency has been a question mark for KKR after he went for runs in the game against MI while he is yet to bat in the second phase of the cash-rich league in this edition. 

Though, he was among some runs when KKR last faced CSK in Mumbai but a ‘Dre-Russ’ calibre knock is still awaited. 

Openers on song

The Kolkata Knight Riders has found a superb batsman in Venkatesh Iyer for the opening slot along side Shubman Gill. The left-right duo of the two batters has been successful so far in providing the side with positive starts on both the occasions. 

The left-handed Iyer has some good strokes in his armour and can accelerate once he gets his eye in. Gill on the other side has been known for his aggressive batting.

On the other side, CSK have Ruturaj Gaikwad who played a vital knock for the team against MI and gave them a good start. Faf du Plessis though had failed to leave a mark in that particular encounter but he was back among some runs against RCB. The two players stitched a partnership of 71 runs for the first wicket. 

So as they say, well begun is half done, both KKR and CSK would be wanting their opening pairs to give their respective sides a positive start. 

Probable XI

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

RCB: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy, Prasidh Krishna

Fantasy XI

Dinesh Karthik, Faf du Plessis, Venkatesh Iyer (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad (VC), Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy, Lockie Ferguson