In the 49th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 has Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will be locking horns with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday. Already out of playoffs reckoning, CSK can play the role of party-poopers for KKR, who are in desperate need of a win to qualify for the playoffs. KKR with 12 points from 12 games would like to win the next two encounters to ensure a smooth passage.
A possibility remains that multiple teams will end up on either 16 or 14 points and a comprehensive win now, will ensure direct qualification for the Knight Riders. It won’t get too easy for KKR against CSK, who handed an eight-wicket loss against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their previous outing. KKR’s unsettled batting order is a point of concern for Eoin Morgan, who would hope that former skipper Dinesh Karthik produces his A-game towards the business end of the tournament.
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Nitish Rana, who came out all guns blazing in the game against Delhi Capitals (DC) came a cropper in the subsequent loss to Kings XI Punjab (KKR). If the top-order fires, KKR will be better served as inconsistency has hurt the team in the course of the season as has the constant chopping and changing. The bowlers have done a good job so far, with Tamil Nadu’s mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy being impressive and earning a spot in Team India.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
If CSK continues to give chances to their players warming the bench, then Kerala pacer KM Asif for Monu Kumar could be a like-for-like replacement. Tamil Nadu’s R Sai Kishore, the tall off-spinner who turned heads with his impressive performances in the TNPL and Syed Mushtaq Ali, is the only other member of the CSK squad yet to get a game. He could be in for Ravindra Jadeja.
Probable XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (C, wk), Sam Curran, N Jagadeesan, Ravindra Jadeja/R Sai Kishore, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Monu Kumar/KM Asif, Imran Tahir
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
KKR has a big top-order problem in a misfiring Dinesh Karthik and his possible replacement can be overseas picks (Nikhil Naik, Tom Banton, and Tim Seifert). If the KKR top-three can provide a strong start, Sunil Narine can be used well to fiery some smashing blows in the middle-overs where CSK will operate with their spinners. If Andre Russell gets fully fit after a 10-day break, he should replace Pat Cummins in the XI.
Probable XI: Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Eoin Morgan (C), Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins/Andre Russell, Lockie Ferguson, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy
