Kolkata Knight Riders are all set to face Chennai Super Kings on Thursday. Where one team is out of the race to the playoffs, the other is very much in that race and would hope to beat CSk in order to stand a better chance to qualify for the playoffs. KKR can take comfort from their win against CSK in the reverse fixture, where Rahul Tripathi scored his first IPL fifty for the franchise. However, CSK would have no pressure on their shoulders this time around, which could make them even more of a threat to KKR’s playoff hopes in IPL 2020. With two valuable points up for grabs for Eoin Morgan and co, one can expect KKR to come out all guns blazing against a CSK team looking to play spoilsport in what promises to be a cracking encounter in Dubai.
Match Details:
Match:
Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Match 49
Date:
29th October 2020, at 7:30 PM IST
Venue:
Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
What To Expect:
Although the previous IPL 2020 game at this venue saw SRH score 219 runs while batting first, we could see a more competitive game between bat and ball on Thursday.The pitch could get slower as the match progresses, with the pacers likely to vary their pace towards the back end of the innings. The pacers have enjoyed some swing early on in IPL 2020, which should keep the batsmen on their toes.Rotation of strike could be crucial to either team’s fortunes although both teams will target the shorter side of the boundary to score quick runs. Although teams have chased well off late in IPL 2020, both teams would ideally want to bat first, with spin expected to play a part in the second half of the match.With dew not expected to have much of an impact, both teams would eye a total in the range of 160-170 if they were to bat first.
Chennai Super Kings:
Three-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings are already out of the tournament and only have pride to play for. Despite having a decent roster, inconsistency in both bowling and batting has cost them a playoff place for the first time in IPL history. CSK, however are looking towards the future, with the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sam Curran impressing in recent games. In fact, the three-time IPL champions come into the game on the back of an astounding win against RCB, and they would be eyeing another win in their bid to avoid the wooden spoon this year.
CSK Predicted Playing XI:
Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (C&WK), N Jagadeesan, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Deepak Chahar/Shardul Thakur, Mitchell Santner, Imran Tahir and Monu Kumar.
Kolkata Knight Riders:
Kolkata Knight Riders, are still in the hunt for an top-four spot. Despite being loaded with international experience and talent, KKR haven’t performed to expectations, with an injury to Andre Russell also not helping their cause. They have 12 points from twelve games so far, which isn’t catastrophic, but considering the form of Kings XI Punjab, KKR would be desperate for a win against MS Dhoni and co.
KKR Predicted Playing XI:
Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Eoin Morgan (C), Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti/Siddhesh Lad, Prasidh Krishna, Lockie Ferguson and Varun Chakravarthy.