For the second time this season, Chennai Super Kings will have back-to-back games against the same opposition, facing Punjab Kings first at home and then away three days later. The first leg of that comes on the back of their comprehensive win against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the same venue a couple of nights ago. That they have won four out of their five home games so far builds up an imposing challenge for the Punjab Kings. They, however, would be high on confidence after a record chase that reversed a four-match losing streak.

The power-hitting success though could come for some questioning as they come to Chennai which has been in better bowling form overall. Despite Chennai's success otherwise, there have been some chinks in the armour that have been exposed particularly with batting and bowling upfront. The change in opening combination has not worked as well as they would have liked, and so too their lack of penetration upfront with the new ball. The lack of swing has been cited as an area of concern by their coaches, as has the lack of penetration with spin due to the dew factor. Their success has come with with some heavy lifting done by the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube and Matheesha Pathirana largely but they would be aiming for a more collective display from the team which has been lacking in the season, with the upturn in form of Daryl Mitchell being a step in that direction.

They run into a side that has threatened to be better on the field but has been on the wrong side of several close results. Their deafening win thus augurs well in their attempt to turn a corner. They have some key players returning to better form to complement the impetus provided by some of their lesser-fancied players, and would be hoping for a knock-on effect as they head into two encounters against CSK with a lot of promise.

When:

May 1, 2024 at 19:30 IST

Where:

MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

What to expect:

The pitch used is set to be a fresh one, but it could be on the drier side as compared to the one used for the Sunrisers Hyderabad game. Dew is expected to play a part as well as it has in the games in Chennai so far.

Head to head:

Overall CSK 15 - 13 PBKS. PBKS have won three games in Chennai including in 2023, only Mumbai Indians (5 wins) have fared better than them as an 'away' team in Chennai

Injuries/unavailability:

There hasn't been any concern reported in the CSK camp.

Tactics & match-ups:

There is a case for tinkering with their opening combination with Ajinkya Rahane's failures so far in the season. On the other hand, the match-up between the likes of Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma, who have powered PBKS' lower order, against Matheesha Pathirana could be a crucial phase of play.

Probable XI:

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Matheesha Pathirana, Mustafizur Rahman [Impact sub: Shardul Thakur/Sameer Rizvi]

Injuries/unavailability:

A decision on Shikhar Dhawan is set to be taken on the day of the game while Sikandar Raza has left the squad for national duty.

Tactics & match-ups:

Both Arshdeep Singh and Kagiso Rabada have dismissed Shivam Dube twice each, which allows for a good match-up straightaway. The duo also have a good match-up against Ruturaj Gaikwad and PBKS will be pressed to spread their resources wisely across the innings. Ruturaj has been dismissed four times against left-arm pace this season which could allow some leeway for PBKS bringing Arshdeep more into the equation early on.

Probable XI:

Prabhsimran Singh/Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Rilee Rossouw, Shashank Singh, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma, Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Haarshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh [Impact sub: Rahul Chahar]

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Harpreet Brar's economy rate of 7.62 has been the best for a frontline Punjab Kings bowler in IPL 2024

- Harshal Patel has 11 wickets in four games in Chepauk including a five-wicket haul

Stephen Fleming

It's a part of nature, you gear your team up for the conditions on offer. If you go too far, you run the risk of what should be maybe a penalty. But in most cases, you need to look at the traditional nature of the surface and that provides variations across the country. So two things, one it provides home advantage and it also helps players develop in different conditions rather than one set condition - flat with a lot of runs. You actually have to adapt to surfaces and conditions. There are two parts to the game one is the bowlers and the batsmen, who have dominated so far with small grounds and incredibly flat wickets it's incredibly difficult for bowlers to get any sort of traction whatsoever. As far as spin goes, they've almost been redundant. And they've been a big part of the tournament in the years gone by - calls for more balance between bat and ball while also advocating for 'home advantage'