IPL 2019 – Match 18: Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab – CSK Predicted Playing XI

It will be a teacher-disciple battle when MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK) face Ravichandran Ashwin’s Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. CSK, the defending champions, had a great start to the tournament by winning a hat-trick of games. However, they tasted their first defeat of this season when they took on the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium.

Some of the flaws in the line-up, which weren’t evident in the first three games, were exposed in the last encounter by Rohit Sharma’s men. The death bowling was terrible as they leaked a much as 88 runs in the final six overs. Furthermore, there have also been a few injury scares which might prompt a few changes to the playing eleven for the game at the Chepauk.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK):

Openers (Ambati Rayudu, Faf du Plessis)

Ambati Rayudu‘s form is causing a huge concern not only in the CSK set-up but also in the Indian cricket circles. It was expected that he could be the perfect number four in the India line-up. But he has failed to deliver in all the four games thus far. Though, Rayudu has got the backing of the skipper and the head coach, much to his relief.

Stephen Fleming was clear that they’d like to continue with him. However, that might not be the case with Shane Watson. Keeping the Chennai conditions in mind, the management might rope in an in-form Faf du Plessis to replace the Australian. Since Watson is not bowling anyway, it might not affect the balance of the team.

Middle Order (Suresh Raina, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (c)(wk))

Suresh Raina has been another disappointment for CSK this year. The left-hander isn’t living up to his role and is throwing away the starts. Even though the intent is positive, he hasn’t converted it into something substantial. In the last game, he hit the ball exactly in the region where there was a fielder which was very disappointing.

Raina needs to take more responsibility and should bat sensibly. Kedar Jadhav played well and scored a half-century in the last match. He is likely to continue at number four while MS Dhoni will follow him at five. The wicket-keeper batsman was dismissed for the first time this season in the last match.

All Rounders (Ravindra Jadeja, Scott Kuggeleijn)

Ravindra Jadeja is a must in the eleven while playing at Chepauk. He is highly deceptive and is lethal with the ball whenever there is a slight bit of assistance. CSK would hope that they don’t need to use his services with the willow. DJ Bravo had pulled his hamstring during the last game.

Therefore, CSK might not want to take chances with the Caribbean cricketer. Instead, they have got a good replacement in the form of Scott Kuggeleijn. The New Zealand cricketer is one of the hardest hitters of the ball and has got a good T20 record. He can also crank up the pace with the ball in hand. But the problem here for CSK is that they’ve got no one to handle the death over bowling.

Bowlers (Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir)

Deepak Chahar usually bowls four overs straight. But for the next game, the captain will also want him to pick a few wickets early on. Ideally, CSK will not want the opposition to dictate terms for too long because they do not have resources for the death overs. Shardul Thakur will continue in the eleven. He has got the backing from MS Dhoni and he can also pick up a few important wickets.

Thakur, though, will have to restrict the run-flow in the middle overs and towards the end. Harbhajan Singh and Imran Tahir will complete the CSK line-up. Someone like Harbhajan can have a great impact on the game when playing in assisting conditions. Imran Tahir, on the other hand, has been in terrific form and it seems as if the conditions do not matter much for him at this stage.

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