Chennai Super Kings vs Punjab Kings, IPL 2021, Today Match Prediction 07 October 2021

csk vs pbks Match Prediction & Analysis

IPL2021 is coming to crucial final phase with teams fighting for the top-4 and top-2 positions. Punjab Kings are having a roller coaster ride with 3 losses and 2 wins so far and their campaign is in a jeopardy at the moment. They need to win this match and look for the other results to have a chance to finish in top-4. Chennai Super Kings have suddenly undergone a slip with 2 back-to-back losses and they need to win this match to have 2 cracks at the finals. They also will look for some momentum going into the qualifiers.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Chennai Super Kings Preview

CSK relies heavily on their openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf Du Plessis in the batting department and both players have scored 500+ runs this season. Ambati Rayudu and Ravi Jadeja are also performing with every chance they get with the bat while the form of MS Dhoni, Raina, and partly Moeen Ali has been a big concern for CSK.

CSK bowling unit has been performing superbly barring rare failures. Dwayne Bravo, Josh Hazlewood and Shardul Thakur have been phenomenal with the ball claiming wickets at regular intervals. Ravi Jadeja and Moeen Ali have shared the spin bowling duties and Deepak Chahar has been slightly off-color in the UAE leg especially.

Top players to bet on:

Ruturaj Gaikwad – Gaikwad leads the CSK`s batting department in the UAE leg and has scored a century recently. We expect him to continue his good form with the bat in this match too.

Shardul Thakur – Thakur has been the main wicket-taker in the middle overs for CSK. His usage of slower balls and cutters have been brilliant and we expect him to continue his rhythm in this match too.

Chennai Super Kings Predicted Playing XI:

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Moeen Ali, 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

Punjab Kings Preview

Punjab Kings lost their previous match despite a 91-run opening partnership between Kl Rahul (39 runs) and Mayank Agarwal (57 runs) in a 165-run chase. Aiden Markram (20 runs) and Shahrukh Khan (16 runs) tried their best but their middle order kept losing wickets and never gained any momentum in the chase.  

Mohammed Shami and Moises Henriques picked up 3 wickets each in the last game. Their spin duo of Ravi Bishnoi and Harpret Brar had an off-day last night but they have performed well in this season. Arshdeep Singh too has been impressive with his left-arm angle and variations but has been tonked for few runs in the last game.

Top players to bet on:

Aiden Markram – Markram has been playing crucial 20s & 30s in the middle order but is failing to make a big score to lead his team to victory. He will look to make a big contribution in this match to help his team win the match.

Mohammed Shami – Shami is the leader of their pace attack and he has claimed 18 wickets in this season so far.  We expect him to take more wickets in the match and give his team a chance to qualify for next stage.

Punjab Kings Predicted Playing XI:

KL Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Sarfaraz Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Moises Henriques, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh

Punjab Kings Actual Playing XI:

Sarfaraz Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Shahrukh Khan, Lokesh Rahul, Moises Henriques, Harpreet Brar, Chris Jordan, Aiden Markram, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Agarwal

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

Dubai will have hot and humid conditions and the dew might settle down in the second innings and make life little harder for bowlers to grip the ball.

Venue Details

Dubai was on a slower side in the last match and both teams struggled to score 130-odd runs. Pacers and spinners both got purchase from the pitch and strangled the batters easily. We expect the average scores to be around 140-150 runs in this match.

Toss: To Bowl

Chasing is the best option and the last 5 matches have been won by the teams batting second. We expect both captains to continue the trend in this match too.