IPL 2019 – Match 23: Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders – CSK Predicted Playing XI

After the jolt against the Mumbai Indians, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) got back on track in the next game against KXIP. However, they are yet to face one of their biggest opponents this season. In their next home game, they will be hosting the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) who lead the points table at the moment.

This top-two teams battle has got many keenly interested and they will all hope for a good game of cricket. The Chennai pitch has been improving slightly and we’re seeing decent scores at this venue now. But the biggest questions are – Does CSK have enough resources to counter a strong KKR line-up? & Will there be any changes in the bowling department?

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

Openers (Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis)

After watching him bat, you get the feeling the Shane Watson is just one good knock away from being back at his best. CSK would hope that it happens when they face a dangerous opposition like KKR. If Watson gets going, no bowling line-up in the world can stop him. He has got a lot of backing from skipper MS Dhoni and there is no question of replacing him in the eleven.

CSK have found the perfect balance to their side with the inclusion of Faf du Plessis. He has been in good form and started the season off with a half-century. The South African skipper has the ability to do well in tough conditions as well and will play an important role for his team as the tournament progresses forward.

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

Suresh Raina needs to start delivering good performances at least now. The left-hander has been throwing his starts away way too often now. He needs to calculate his risks and play with more responsibility. Things will only get tough for CSK from here without DJ Bravo and someone like Raina must take the onus upon himself. MS Dhoni will be batting at four. He has done well in the last game and should focus on rotating the strike more often.

Ambati Rayudu has played at number five for Hyderabad in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Technically, this is the position where he was preparing to bat as he might have expected Faf du Plessis to open the innings right from the start of the season. He is back at his comfortable spot now and it’ll be interesting to see how he fares. Kedar Jadhav will be the finisher instead of Bravo and will bat at six.

All Rounders (Scott Kuggeleijn, Ravindra Jadeja)

We haven’t seen the batting exploits of Scott Kuggeleijn as yet. He has got long levers and can strike the ball long and hard. CSK could try him at seven ahead of Jadeja in the next game. The Kiwi will add a lot of balance to the team if he does well with the bat. He did well with the ball in the last match. After leaking a lot of runs in the first two overs, he came back strong at the death.

Ravindra Jadeja is the other all-rounder in the CSK line-up. He has been able to get grip and turn on the Chennai track. It won’t be easy for the KKR batsmen to handle the Indian skippers. Their batsmen like Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik and Shubman Gill will have to step-up.

Bowlers (Deepak Chahar, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir)

We’ve seen Deepak Chahar bowl his four overs right at the top till now. However, his role in the side will change from now on. He needs to bowl at the death and has been working hard on his variations in the net sessions. Chahar’s slower balls didn’t click in the last match but he’ll want to nail them in the next game.

Harbhajan Singh is a must when playing in Chennai. There is a lot of purchase on offer for him and he exactly knows the places where he needs to bowl. If he can dismiss Sunil Narine and Rana early, it will be huge for CSK. Imran Tahir will complete the line-up. He has been bowling the difficult overs and is doing his job really well. It is him who needs to counter someone like Andre Russell.

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