The 21st match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 will be played between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Wednesday. Although MS Dhoni and his men have just two wins in five games, in their last game, CSK registered a ten-wicket win against a hapless KXIP side. With the likes of Shardul Thakur and Shane Watson coming out all guns blazing, CSK will go into this game with a lot of confidence and will look to win their third match in IPL 2020.
However, they come across KKR, who has had their shares of ups ad downs in this season. With two wins in four games, KKR has had a decent start to its campaign although they also have unanswered questions in their squad. The form of Sunil Narine is a major talking point ahead of the upcoming match with the West Indian unable to come up with a telling contribution with bat or ball.
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Elsewhere, KKR has a largely settled unit with the duo of Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill leading the way with the bat. The head-to-head record fo KKR and CSK is 14-8 in the latter’s favor with the three-time IPL champions doing the double over KKR in IPL 2019. Thus, one can expect a cracking encounter at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Wednesday.
As the two sides prepare for a thrilling encounter, here’s a look at three key player battles to keep an eye on.
#1. Shane Watson vs Pat Cummins
CSK veteran opener, Shane Watson will be playing a crucial role. He has finally got his form back in IPL in recent times as he had amassed 53 runs in just 53 balls and eve ins the 2018 edition he has amassed 555 runs followed it up by 398 runs in the last edition with the help of three fifties. This season he will have to be at his very best for the CSK to do better.
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Watson’s battle with the Australian pacer, Pat Cummins could be an interesting one as the latter has been known for troubling one of the best of batsmen. Cummins would be confident after his comeback against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
#2. Eoin Morgan vs Piyush Chawla
With every match-winning innings that Eoin Morgan plays, he manages to witness an increase in is fanbase. He played a mature hand in KKR’s win over SRH, finding his groove en route to his 29-ball 42. He will most likely face a stern challenge from the CSK leg-spinner, Piyush Chawla.
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The leg-spinner had a wonderful 2019 season when he scalped as many as 6 wickets at a strike-rate of 17. With his bag of tricks, Chawla has often been seen troubling some stalwarts from various franchises. Most definitely, he would be looking forward to taking on the likes of Morgan.
#3. Andre Russell vs Deepak Chahar
An attacking batsman against a fiery fast bowler makes for an intriguing contest. And KKR all-rounder, Andre Russell is among the most aggressive batsmen on the T20 circuit. He blasted it out in the last season of IPL, when he scored runs 510 at a strike-rate of 204.81. Even if he spends only a couple of overs at the crease, he can make the most of it.
But, the contest is like a double-edged sword. While fast bowlers have also been seen leaking runs in IPL 2020, they also have the capability of making batsmen look embarrassingly bad if they get their line and length right. Deepak Chawla is nothing short of one of the most dependable bowlers in IPL he has scalped 22 wickets in 17 matches at a strike rate of 17.59 in 2019. He has performed against the best in the business and has made his mark with his guile.
