Rivals Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are set to engage in a tantalising encounter as they are set to meet at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on Monday, April 8.
CSK, the reigning champions, haven't had a great start to their title-defending campaign in IPL 2024, winning just two of their opening four games.
BET NOW: Exclusive sign-up offers and bonuses when you bet on IPL action
On the other hand, KKR look one of the strongest units in the pitch. Along with Rajasthan Royals, they are the only team to not face a defeat this season.
CSK vs KKR: Pitch Report
The new ball bowlers at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium will have limited lateral movement on the surface. At this location, pacers — who can hit the deck hard and bowl cutters — may be useful, though.
Throughout the game, there will also be some assistance for the spin bowlers. Spinners have usually done well on this venue, choking the run flow in the middle overs. Therefore, it will be crucial for the opener on both sides to take advantage of the field limitations and quickly score some runs in the first six overs.
With the exception of the spinners, bowlers who trick the batsmen by slowing the speed and using variations usually do well here. Anything near 175-180 would be a par score on this pitch, given that the average first innings winning score is 174 in IPL in Chennai.
Also, the team that wins the toss usually chooses to bat first. Indeed, the team batting first at Chepauk has won 47 games out of 78.
CSK vs KKR: Live Toss
CSK have won the toss and opted to field first.
CSK vs KKR: Confirmed Lineups
Chennai Super Kings Playing XI:
Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Ravindra Jadeja, Sameer Rizvi, MS Dhoni (WK), Shardul Thakur, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande, Mustafizur Rahman
Impact Players: Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, Shaik Rasheed, Mitchell Santne, Nishant Sindhu
Kolkata Knight Riders Playing XI:
Phil Salt (WK), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (C), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora
Impact Players: Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sakib Hussain
CSK vs KKR: Prediction
Historically, this has been a tie heavily dominated by CSK. The Men in Yellow have 19 wins compared to KKR's 11.
However, KKR could be the favourites to register their fourth straight win of the season, given that they are currently in imperious form. KKR have played three games, winning all three, marking the first instance of KKR winning the opening three games in their history.
CSK have been patchy, winning two games and losing two. One might argue that playing at Chepauk could give them a huge advantage. However, such has been the form of KKR that CSK would be a bit underconfident, even in front of their faithful.
CSK vs KKR: Betting odds
According to odds on Dafabet, CSK are favourites to win the clash against KKR.
| Team | Odds |
| Chennai Super Kings | 1.85 |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 2.05 |
If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Learn more >