Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2021, Today Match Prediction 15 October 2021

csk vs kkr Match Prediction & Analysis

Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders are all set to face off each other in the IPL final. Both teams have already won IPL titles with CSK doing it three times and KKR twice. KKR pulled off one of the grandest of comebacks from no.7 position in points table in the UAE leg of the tournament. They are in a 4-match winning streak currently including the eliminator and Qualifier 2. CSK were very consistent for their first 11 league matches and suddenly experienced a fall with 3 losses on a trot in the league stages. But, they came back strongly in the Qualifier 1 to chase down a par total with their captain finishing off in style.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Chennai Super Kings Preview

CSK batters Ruturaj Gaikwad (70 runs) and Robin Uthappa (63 runs) made a brilliant 110-run partnership which kept them in the massive chase after early wicket of Faf Du Plessis. They suffered a small collapse from 113/1 to 119/4 in middle overs but their Skipper MS Dhoni made a crucial 6-ball 18 runs to finish the match. Ravi Jadeja, Ambati rayudu, and Dwayne Bravo are too in good touch playing crucial cameos in this season. 

CSK bowling unit was led by Josh Hazlewood in the last match as he picked up 2 wickets in the match. Spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali bowled well in tandem in the middle overs for combined figures of 7-0-50-1. Shardul Thakur, Dwayne Bravo, and Deepak Chahar were little bit expensive but are seasoned campaigners who can step up at the big stage.

Top players to bet on:

Ruturaj Gaikwad – Gaikwad is having a phenomenal season scoring 603 runs at a strike rate of 138 with 4 fifties and a century to his name. He will look to end the season with yet another big score to help his team win the final.

Josh Hazlewood – Hazlewood has been CSK`s main wicket taker in the power play with the hard lengths. He will be expected to make early inroads into KKR`s worrisome middle order in this match.

Chennai Super Kings Predicted Playing XI:

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood

Chennai Super Kings Actual Playing XI:

Dwayne Bravo, Ruturaj Gaikwad, RV Uthappa, Deepak Chahar, SN Thakur, Ravindra Jadeja, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Josh Hazlewood

Kolkata Knight Riders Preview

KKR openers Shubman Gill (45 runs) and Venkatesh Iyer (55 runs) gave a brilliant start with 96-run opening partnership in the 136-run chase. But their middle order stumbled with all players from No. 5 to No.7 being dismissed for ducks. Rahul Tripathi scored 12 runs off 11 balls with a six of the penultimate delivery to help their team cross the line.

All the five KKR bowlers used last night came to the party and no bowler gave away runs at over 7 RPO. Chakravarthy dismissed both the Delhi openers while pacers Shivam Mavi and Lockie Ferguson chipped in with crucial middle order wickets. Sunil Narine continued his good showing with the ball with figures of 4-0-27-0.

Top players to bet on:

Varun Chakravarthy – Chakravarty has 18 wickets at an economy rate of 6.4 RPO this season so far. He alongside Sunil Narine has formed a brilliant partnership to trouble the opposition batters in middle overs.

Venkatesh Iyer – Venkatesh Iyer has taken up the role of aggressor at the top and he has been phenomenal with 3 half-centuries in 9 matches this season so far. He will be tough batsmen to stop once he gets going.

Kolkata Knight Riders Predicted Playing XI:

Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakaravarthy

Kolkata Knight Riders Actual Playing XI:

Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Varun Chakravarthy, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Sunil Narine, Dinesh Karthik, Shakib Al Hasan, RA Tripathi

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

Dubai will have a temperatures in the range of early 30s during the evening time when the match takes place. We expect no rain or external weather factors to make an impact in this match.

Venue Details

Dubai pitch has a fair bit of balance between the bat and ball with something in the surface for both of them. Bowlers will need to bowl the hard lengths on this sluggish track and execute their plans to perfection on this pitch. We expect the average scores to be around 160-170 runs in this match.

Toss: To Bowl

Chasing is a no-brainer in this match and both CSK and KKR has never lost a match chasing in this UAE leg so far. Last 8 matches in Dubai are won by the teams bowling first.