Match 21 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 will feature an interesting match as Chennai Super Kings will take on Kolkata Knight Riders. Both the teams came into the tournament as heavy favourites, however, haven’t had the best starts. That being said, the entire cricketing community knows that they can bounce back at any given time.
CSK is coming off a dominating win over Kings XI Punjab as they castled them by 10 wickets. KKR, on the other hand, is coming off a loss against Delhi Capitals.
Chennai Super Kings
CSK had their back against the wall in their last match. The three-time champions were coming off three consecutive losses, first time after 2014. They started a bit weakly as well as KXIP was able to put a healthy total of 178 onboard. The addition of Dwayne Bravo and Shardul Thakur has helped the CSK bowling line up. They can compensate if one of the spinners end up being expensive.
CSK, however, showed their real class while chasing. The opening pair of Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis chased the entire total singlehandedly as they put together a 181 run partnership. Watson finally converted his start into a big one as he scored 83 off just 53 balls. Du Plessis continued his form as he scored 87 off 53 balls to take the side through.
Kolkata Knight Riders
KKR is coming off a loss against DC, however, overall they performed well. Bowling first, DC was able to score a mammoth 228 runs. Obviously, bowling could have better but nothing much can be done while playing at Sharjah! KKR scored 210 runs while chasing. Nitish Rana was able to convert his start as he scored an impressive 58. Eoin Morgan and Rahul Tripathi played well as well. They might have to consider opening with someone else other than Sunil Narine.
Fantasy XI team
FAF DU PLESSIS (9) (C) – Du Plessis is coming off two phenomenal fifties. He scored 87 of just 53 balls against KXIP. He’ll again be my captain.
AMBATI RAYADU (9) – Rayadu will look to continue from his match-winning inning in his first match before the injury.
SHANE WATSON (9.5) – Watson is coming off a phenomenal 83 off just 53 balls.
SHUBMAN GILL (9) – Gill looked in great form in the second match as his fifty took KKR home. He scored another fifty against RR to take KKR towards a respectable total.
EOIN MORGAN (9.5) – Morgan has shown great form. He took KKR home against their match against SRH. He also played an important contribution against RR to put up a respectable total. He also gave a ray of hope in their last match chasing 228.
NITISH RANA (9) (VC) – Rana has looked good. He’s coming off a great 58 against DC. He’ll be our vice-captain.
ANDRE RUSSELL (10.5) – Russell has been playing cameos. However, he’s an impact player.
DINESH KARTHIK (8.5) – The KKR captain has shown some snippets of good from. However, he has been batting up the order, so there are chances of him scoring something substantial.
SHIVAM MAVI (8.5) – Mavi has proved himself in his all the three matches.
PAT CUMMINS (9) – Cummins has bowled well. The last match being in Sharjah affected his figures, but he has looked in a decent rhythm.
DEEPAK CHAHAR (8.5) – Chahar has been contributing with crucial wickets especially in the powerplay overs.
PREDICTION
It’s difficult to bet against CSK after a performance like that. The return of Ambati Rayadu has added stability to the lineup. The addition of Bravo and Shardul Thakur has helped as well. Their side looks more balanced than KKR. CSK will therefore defeat KKR.
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Keep going brother.