Punjab Kings won the toss and decided to bowl first against Chennai Super Kings in match number 49 of the Indian Premier League at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday. (Preview | Key Battles)
PBKS are once again being led by English allrounder Sam Curran as their regular captain Shikhar Dhawan continues to heal from an injury he suffered earlier in the tournament.
Ruturaj Gaikwad informed that Matheesha Pathirana and Tushar Deshpande will be missing in today's game. English pacer Richard Gleeson is making his IPL debut today.
Playing XI
Punjab Kings: Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran(c), Rilee Rossouw, Shashank Singh, Jitesh Sharma(w), Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
Impact Subs: Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, Rishi Dhawan, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Harpreet Singh Bhatia
Chennai Super Kings: Ajinkya Rahane, Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Daryl Mitchell, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w), Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Richard Gleeson, Mustafizur Rahman
Impact Subs: Sameer Rizvi, Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh, Shaik Rasheed, Prashant Solanki
CSK are up against an unpredictable Punjab Kings in a crucial encounter for both these teams. CSK and PBKS are both coming on the back of dominating performances in their last games.
While CSK tamed a dangerous SRH by 78 runs, PBKS created history by registering the highest-ever T20 chase of 262 against Kolkata Knight Riders. PBKS continue to be at the eighth spot on the table with just three wins and six losses while CSK are fourth team on the table with five wins and four losses.
PBKS would be delighted that their top order has returned to form and they would want the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh to follow up their stunning performance against KKR with another good one. The bowlers have done well for PBKS this season with the pace unit of Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Sam Curran and Harshal Patel all among the top pacers of the tournament.
CSK have largely depended on Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shivam Dube with the bat. Daryl Mitchell showed signs of regaining his form in the last game against SRH and CSK would be happy about that. The bowling has done well as a unit and if the Chapauk surface helps, they can give PBKS batters a tough time.
