Confident Kings take on struggling Chennai after heroics against Royals

In the eighth match of IPL 2021, Punjab Kings will take the field against Chennai Super Kings on Friday. ...

By Lokmat English Desk | Published: April 16, 2021 12:53 PM2021-04-16T12:53:09+5:302021-04-16T12:53:57+5:30

Confident Kings take on struggling Chennai after heroics against Royals | Confident Kings take on struggling Chennai after heroics against Royals

Confident Kings take on struggling Chennai after heroics against Royals

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In the eighth match of IPL 2021, Punjab Kings will take the field against Chennai Super Kings on Friday. PBKS and CSK have made a contrasting start to the season. Punjab played out a last-over thriller against Rajasthan Royals and ended up on the winning end. However, CSK were handed a seven-wicket thrashing by Delhi Capitals. Without a doubt, Punjab go in as favourites as KL Rahul's side, ticked a few boxes in their first game of the season.  KL Rahul batted freely for his 50-ball 91, Chris Gayle was also among the runs, and Deepak Hooda, promoted to No. 4, smashed 64 off just 28 balls. 

Death bowling was the Achilles heel for the Punjab Kings last season. While Meredith can bowl at a fierce pace, Chris Jordan is a more proven customer and can pair with Arshdeep Singh at the death. The pitch at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai has definitely provided to be a bit tricky for the team batting second. The last game played here between Delhi and Rajasthan showed that batting is a bit tough and the ball is not coming on to the bat as nicely as Wankhede is known for. Due has also hampered the team bowling second. The two sides have met 24 times in the IPL, with Punjab Kings winning nine encounters and the Chennai Super Kings emerging victorious on 15 occasions. Last season, the then Kings XI Punjab managed just one wicket across their two games against the Super Kings. The Super Kings trounced them by ten wickets in Dubai and by nine in Abu Dhabi.

Punjab: Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, KL Rahul (C, WK), Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Deepak Hooda, Jhye Richardson, Mohammad Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Riley Meredith

Chennai: Faf du Plessis, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Sam Curran, MS Dhoni (C, WK), Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Lungi Ngidi, Shardul Thakur
 

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