CSK vs KKR IPL 2024 Match Preview: Chennai Super Kings aim to bounce back at home against unbeaten Kolkata Knights

Chennai's mixed away fortunes

Defending champions Chennai Super Kings are back in their den after losing two away games – to Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capital, at their second home venue in Visakhapatnam – only to see the advantage slip away after two impressive wins at home.

Ruturaj Gaikwad and fellow Rachin Ravindra failed to give the desired start as CSK struggled against SRH and DC. At the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai today, Monday , the Chennai skipper will be hoping to make amends as the Yellow Brigade host Kolkata Knight Riders, who haven’t done anything wrong this season. Worrieson the bowling front CSK must be hoping their pacer Mustafizur Rahman and Matheesha Pathirana to be available for selection. The team had missed their best pacers for different reasons during the six-wicket defeat in Hyderabad.

Pathiranawas not considered for selection due to a niggle and Rahman had to fly home to secure his Visa for the T20World Cup in the West Indies and the USA. There were reports that the Bengal pacer would join the squad during the match at Hyderabad. He hadn’t returned on the eve of the home match against KKR.

Spinner’s Maheesh Theekshana (1/63 in 8 overs) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/109 in 14 overs) are a worrying sign for the hosts. But Moeen Alihas been impressive in his only outing, taking two SRH wickets. The Chennai pitch, which has only supported pace this season, will test the spinners as much as the strong KKR batting.

CSK need to get their act together CSK cannot read much in their two wins at home against Royals Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans. The two sides are struggling in the lower half of the table.

But for Shivam Dube and Ajinkya Rahane, CSK middle order has failed to perform collectively. MS Dhoni, enjoying the twilight of his playing career, coming at No. 7 or 8 isn’t helping the team much. Mahi didn’t get to bat against GT and RCB. He faced only2 balls for 1 run during the loss against SRH in the last match. His 16-ball 37* (four 4s and three 6s) against DC is a testimony to the fact that Dhoni hasn’t lost his Midas’ touch. CSK need to use him more effectively. A cult figure in cricket, Dhoni has enjoyed the mass support wherever CSK has played this season. Millions of his fans also have every right to the unlimited entertainment MSD can offer in his last year on the circuit.

KKR ticking all boxes right

The Knights have reached Chennai with back to back wins over SRH (by four runs), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (by seven wickets) and Delhi Capitals (by an IPL record 106 runs). The Shreyas Iyer-led side has grown in strength match by match.

Good starts with bat and ball

Return of Gautam Gambhir, the man to lead KKR to their two IPL titles, in a new role as mentor has worked wonders for the Knights. It was Gambhir who persuaded West Indies veteran Sunil Narine to open the innings. The decision has resulted in two match winning knocks in three games – a 39-ball 85 against DC and 22-ball 45against RCB.

Narine along with Phil Salt, the second highest run aggregator for KKR in three games, has tallied 50+ for the first wicket in two out of three games. When Narine failed to click against SRH, Salt steadied the ship with a resolute 54, rallying the innings from the cheap dismissals of top four batters.

Similarly with the ball, KKR have allowed only one 50+ opening partnership against them, tasting very early success against RCB and DC.

Middle order only worrying factor The indifferent form of Shreyas Iyer and Ramandeep Singh is a weak link in the KKR batting. The captain has managed just 57 runs in three outings. Rinku Singh, too, needs to be consistent. Despite his 8-ball26 against DC, the express run machine has got only 54 runs against his name.

Andre Russell the match-winner

KKR will like the in-form Russell to keep his good work with the bat and the ball. The Caribbean veteran has been the team’s second best run getter with 105 runs, including the match-winning 64* against SRH. He is also the most successful bowler for the team, taking five wickets with his pace.

Russell along with Harshit Rana, who too has five wickets from three outings, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora and Narine is making KKR a good bowling unit. With Starc also finding his rhythm, CSK batters should be ready for some tough questions.

Head to Head Record

CSK enjoy a 19-11 edge in the 31 meetings with KKR while there was no result in one game. It has been a close contest in the last five games between the two teams with Super Kings winning three and the Knights two, including the last one at Chepauk by six wickets.

CSK vs KKR Squads:

CSK: MS Dhoni, Aravelly Avanish, Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, RS Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Daryl Mitchell ,Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Nishant Sindhu, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Choudhary, Mustafizur Rahman, Matheesha Pathirana, Simarjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki, Shardul Thakur, Maheesh Theekshana and Sameer Rizvi.

KKR: Shreyas Iyer (c), KS Bharat, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

Match starts at 7.30 PM IST.