Batters must come to the party for CSK against powerplay bosses KKR
Written by I Dig Sports
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Chennai, 7.30pm IST (1400 GMT)
Big picture - A changing Chepauk
The focus at CSK seems to have shifted this year. A team that had relied on their spinners and the way their former captain used them to suffocate oppositions has, so far, played its home games in conditions where the ball isn't even stopping on the pitch, let alone turn off it. In the two matches it has hosted in IPL 2024, Chepauk has offered 18 wickets at an average of 28 to the fast bowlers, but only four at an average of 47 to the slow bowlers. CSK's share in those wickets: 13 for the quicks and zip, nada, nothing for the spinners.
CSK LLWW (IPL 2024, most recent first)
KKR WWW
Team news and Impact Player strategy
Matheesha Pathirana was doing a little bit of bowling on Sunday, with CSK bowling consultant Eric Simons saying he was left out of the last game as a precaution. It is still unclear, though, if he is ready to play on Monday. Ditto for Mustafizur Rahman, who had to leave for home to work on getting a US visa, but is understood to be on his way to India and should link up with the team soon. Moeen Ali could keep his place given he hits Narine at a strike rate of 181 in the IPL (20 off 11 balls, two dismissals) and offers an offspin option against the left-hand batters of KKR.
Likely XII: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 2 Rachin Ravindra, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Shivam Dube, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 MS Dhoni (wk), 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Tushar Deshpande, 11 Mukesh Chaudhary/Shardul Thakur, 12 Maheesh Theekshana
Nitish Rana, who hasn't played since KKR's opening game, tweeted that he "can't wait to get on the field", so he might be in line for a return. Harshit Rana, though, who didn't bowl in their last match despite being in the XI, arrived in Chennai with his arm in a sling. Angkrish Raghuvanshi might continue to be their Impact Player, swapping in or out for a bowler.
Likely XII: 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Venkatesh Iyer, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Angkrish Raghuvanshi/Nitish Rana, 6 Andre Russell, 7 Rinku Singh, 8 Ramandeep Singh, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Harshit Rana/Vaibhav Arora, 11 Varun Chakravarthy, 12 Anukul Roy/Suyash Sharma
In the spotlight - Andre Russell vs CSK
The average first-innings score at Chepauk in IPL 2024 is 189, which is a serious increase from where it was (164) in 21 matches across the previous three years. So strap in and get ready for some runs.
Stats that matter - Power-hitting masterclass on the cards
"We aren't overly concerned about Ruturaj. He's a quality cricketer. It hasn't worked out but that's the nature of high-octane cricket. You have to go out there and play with a degree of confidence. You have to go out and play with a degree of risk-taking and it'll come. He's that kind of a person, he's been really calm and focused on what he wants to do and there's not much concern in that respect."
CSK bowling consultant Eric Simons on the slow-scoring opener
"I feel a lot of teams and franchises today want power players who can hit boundaries and sixes which is why you see a lot of that. But I feel the game still revolves around players who can accumulate runs like a Virat Kohli. But eventually this game is about playing with a higher strike rate, whether that be singles, doubles or fours, that's your formula to success and I feel it's a very individual thing."
KKR batting coach Abhishek Nayar on how to approach batting in T20s
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