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Punjab Kings vs Chennai Super Kings Preview: Reds out to smart Yellow Army

By Sridhar Bhamidi

14 Apr 2021

Sridhar Bhamidi 14 Apr 2021

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Punjab Kings will take on Chennai Super Kings in match #8 of IPL 2021 on Friday
This match will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai
Chennai Super Kings have won 7 of their last 9 matches against Punjab Kings
Punjab Kings have hit more 6s than Chennai Super Kings in 6 of their last 7 matches
KL Rahul has 7 scores of 50 and above in his last 15 matches for Punjab Kings
Suresh Raina has 8 scores of 30 and above in 8 of his last 12 matches against Punjab Kings

Can Suresh Raina lift Chennai against Punjab? (Getty Images)

Contrasting starts to the Indian Premier League 2021 campaign has put Punjab Kings and Chennai Super Kings on different perspectives ahead of their clash on Friday. This match #8 will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Punjab started with a narrow four-run win over Rajasthan Royals in a high-scoring entertainer. Chennai were steamrolled by Delhi Capitals via a seven-wicket win.

Punjab Kings Form

Captain KL Rahul started this season with a typically stylish 91 off 50 balls. The real punch came from Deepak Hooda’s 64 off 28 balls that propelled the Kings to 221/6.

Punjab needed a tight final over from Arshdeep Singh (3/35) to prevail off the last ball. Mohammed Shami’s 2/33 was the other highlight, but the two Aussie pacers on debut – Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith struggled with a combined aggregated of 8-0-104-2.

Punjab Kings News

Murugan Ashwin, Richardson, and Meredith will be under the scanner after expensive spells in the first game. Ravi Bishnoi, Fabian Allen, and Chris Jordan remain in the race for selection.

Chennai Super Kings Form

Chennai faced similar batting struggles like in IPL 2020, although Suresh Raina’s 54 off 36 and Moeen Ali’s 36 off 24 were a welcome change. Ravindra Jadeja also looked to be in good touch, while Sam Curran’s belligerent 34 off just 15 balls led them to 188/7.

However, the Chennai bowlers struggled to adapt to the dew conditions losing by seven wickets with eight balls to spare. Shardul Thakur was their most effective, but equally most expensive bowler with returns of 2/53.

Chennai Super Kings News

South African Lungi Ngidi will be available for selection, but it remains to be seen if MS Dhoni decides to bench Curran.

Punjab Kings vs Chennai Super Kings Head-to-Head

Chennai Super Kings lead the historical record against Punjab Kings 15-9 including seven wins in their last nine matches.

Last season saw Chennai do a double over Punjab. A stunning 181-run unbeaten opening wicket partnership between Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis gave them a 10-wicket win in the first match. Later, Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 62* helped them to a nine-wicket win in the reverse fixture.

Punjab Kings vs Chennai Super Kings Match Up

Punjab looked good with the bat but were inadequate with the ball against the Royals. It could so easily have been a loss for them, but for the final over heroics. As for the Super Kings, they look rugged with the bat as most of the players haven’t had adequate competitive match practice. That could be telling once again in this crucial encounter.

Punjab Kings vs Chennai Super Kings Stats

Punjab Kings have hit more 6s than Chennai Super Kings in 6 of their last 7 matches.
KL Rahul has scored 7 scores of 50 and above in his last 15 matches for Punjab Kings.
Chennai Super Kings have scored more runs in the Powerplay than Punjab Kings in 9 of their last 11 matches.
Suresh Raina has scored at least 30 runs in 8 of his last 12 innings against Punjab Kings, including 4 scores of 50 and above.
This is the first time since 2010 that Chennai Super Kings aren’t starting a match against Punjab Kings as favourites to win.

Prediction

Punjab Kings have some issues to iron out, despite edging out Rajasthan in their tournament opener. KL Rahul’s form is a huge positive and they look set to score heavy in the sixes segment once again. Back them to come up top in the most 6s segment. Rahul’s form is so impressive that he can be backed to score more than 32 runs and probably go on to make a 50. Same is the case with Raina who looks hungry to score more than 30. If you are looking for an overall winner, Punjab Kings look more balanced than Chennai and could end their losing streak against them.

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