Stuttering CSK look to make most of home stretch at fortress Chepauk: The defending champions will play their last 3 matches at home, but it won’t be easy against an LSG side experienced in slower games.
Match details
Chennai Super Kings (P 7 W4 L3; 4th) vs Lucknow Super Giants (P 7 W4 L3; 5th;)
Chennai, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)
Big Picture – CSK vs LSG, Round 2
A major reason behind CSK’s stellar record over the years has been their dominance at home. Continuing that streak, they have won all three of their home games in IPL 2024 so far. However, they have just one win in four away matches, making it all the more important for them to win at home.
Fortunately, they will play three matches in a row in Chepauk from Tuesday. If they win all three, they will have one foot in the playoffs.
Their biggest challenge, arguably, will come in the first of those games against LSG. Chepauk is known for its slow, rolling surface, something LSG have experienced playing at their home ground in Lucknow.
Moreover, LSG will carry the confidence of both sides having beaten CSK as recently as Friday in the previous game.
It will be interesting to see what kind of pitch CSK prepares. Will they play to their strengths, or try to deny LSG what they are used to?
Form guide
Chennai Super Kings LWWLL (last five matches, most recent first) Lucknow Super Giants WLLWW
previous meeting
Playing in Lucknow, CSK scored 176 for 6, thanks to a half-century from Ravindra Jadeja and another cameo from MS Dhoni. In reply, KL Rahul scored a brilliant 82 off 53 balls to help his team to an eight-wicket victory.
Team news and impact player strategy :Stuttering CSK look to make most of home stretch at fortress Chepauk
Chennai Super Kings: Stuttering CSK look to make most of home stretch at fortress Chepauk
Ajinkya Rahane has recovered from a calf niggle and could move down the order after opening the innings in the previous two matches. This could also mean that Shivam Dubey again plays as an impact player if CSK bowl first. Batting first, Mathisha Pathirana could play that role.
Probable XI 1 Rachin Ravindra, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Shivam Dubey, 5 Moeen Ali, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Sameer Rizvi, 8 MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper), 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 DP, Turkey. John Rahman, 12 Mathisha Pathirana.
Lucknow Super Giants : Stuttering CSK look to make most of home stretch at fortress Chepauk
Mayank Yadav is still not fully fit but LSG may consider bringing back Devdutta Padikal. Despite getting out in single figures in each of his five innings so far in IPL 2024, he has a good record against most CSK bowlers.
Padikkal and Mohsin Khan could be LSG’s dominant players, depending on whether they bowl or bat first.
Probable XI 1 Quinton de Kock, 2 KL Rahul (captain, WK), 3 Devdatta Padikele, 4 Nicholas Pooran, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Deepak Hooda, 7 Ayush Badoni, 8 Krunal Pandya, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Ravi Bishnoin,
At the top of the discussion : Stuttering CSK look to make most of home stretch at fortress Chepauk
Rachin Ravindra is opening the innings for CSK in the absence of Devon Conway. He got off to a flying start in their first two games, but his form deteriorated after that and he scored just 50 runs in the next five innings at a strike rate of 108.69. CSK usually back their players, and Ravindra might get a few more games, but in a tournament with unprecedented scoring rates, they can’t afford to start slow for too long. On the other hand, KL Rahul left. He started slowly but has really picked up the pace in the last few games. In the first four games of the season, he scored at a strike rate of 125.49 in the powerplay. Since then, he’s smashed it to 185.11 – something he’s always been capable of. This is a great sign for LSG, not so for other teams.
Pitch and terms : Stuttering CSK look to make most of home stretch at fortress Chepauk
In the three games so far at Chepauk, the teams batting first have posted three different totals: Royal Challengers Bangalor e (lost) 173 for 6, CSK (won) 206 for 6 and Kolkata Knight Riders (lost) 137 for 9. A lot depends on how the pitch plays on a given day, both CSK and LSG will aim for a total close to 200.
quote “He [Mustafizur Rahman] has got a great slower ball, which is difficult to hit especially in Chennai. We will be sad if he [returns to Bangladesh], but his country is calling. We want to keep him as long as we can. We can with his output so far