IPL 2021: Match 8 – PBKS vs CSK – Chennai Super Kings Predicted Playing XI

The 8th match of the IPL will see the day of the light between Punjab Kings and Chennai Super Kings. The face-off of two wicketkeeping skippers will be an interesting affair to watch as CSK will try their best to win the game and Punjab would not want to break their winning streak. CSK saw their game last game against Delhi Capitals and had to bear a big loss as Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan caused much damage.

However, the yellow franchise would be looking out on not to repeat the same mistakes and turn tables in the coming up game. Suresh Raina marked his comeback in the most stylish way as he scored a terrific fifty in the last game to push his team forward. It will be a thing to see who will shoulder responsibilities for the team this time and it is expected that CSK will hardly make a change in their XIs.

Predicted Playing XI of CSK- Match 8

Openers (Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad)

Though both the openers of CSK failed big time to script something fine for their time, it is highly expected of them to set a good tone for the team in the game coming up. Du Plessis has been the backbone of the team’s batting lineup for a long time and he might start exploding from the very next game itself. On the other hand, Gaikwad turned out to be a great one for the yellow franchise in the last season as he starred in back-to-back matches in IPL 2020 towards the end.

Middle Order (Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, and MS Dhoni)

Suresh Raina owned the game from CSK’s end in the last match and he is only expected to get going in the same tone. By bringing up his sublime fifty, he pushed the team’s score in a respectable zone. Ambati Rayudu also contributed with some handful runs but would be expected to take up responsibilities in a better manner in the next game.

Talking about skipper MS Dhoni, things have just not been going right for him since the last season. He failed to bring up a single big score in IPL 2020 and even in this season’s first game, he couldn’t time the ball well and gave his wicket in no time. Apart from his guidance and leadership skills, it will be expected of him to contribute a little with the bat too.

 All-rounders (Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, and Sam Curran)

The contribution from Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, and Sam Curran was good enough from the bat in the last game. All of them added vital runs and played at a strike rate of over 150. The all-rounder department of CSK is deemed to be strong enough to face challenging tasks and they will be expected to do the same in the next game.

Dwayne Bravo didn’t get to bat in the last game but made sure to make his contribution with the ball. Some tight bowling from his end made him the most economical one from the team’s end and he picked one wicket too. The dynamic player is expected to get going in the same manner.

Bowlers (Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar)

The bowling department of the three-time champions failed to create a mark in the last game. While Chahar conceded at an economy of 9, Shardul Thakur was hammered by DC batters all over the field and he leaked runs at an economy of 14.45. Though Thakur picked two wickets, it failed to create an impact in front of the runs he leaked. The pace section would be expected to pull up their socks and emerge better in the next game of CSK.