Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings, Indian Premier League 2020, Today Match Prediction 07 Oct 2020

kkr vs csk Match Prediction & Analysis

The competition has become intense in the Indian Premier League 2020 and in this context the 21st game between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Chennai Super Kings would be a very interesting contest. Both the sides have four points as of now and shall be looking to go up on the points table with a win here. The Kolkata Knight Riders lost their last game against the Delhi Capitals while the Chennai Super Kings ended their three-game losing spree with a dominating win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad. 

Chennai’s openers looked in terrific form in the last game and this will make the side very confident as it goes into this game. It was their batting that was struggling so far in the tournament and the two-time IPL winners have got it right as of now. Kolkata Knight Riders have had their problems with team selection and some of their players in the playing XI have surprised everyone. It remains to be seen if KKR is able to turn it around in this game. 

TEAMS PREVIEW

Kolkata Knight Riders Preview

It was a bad loss for Dinesh Karthik’s side in the last game against Delhi Capitals where they went down by 18 runs. The loss was a result of poor bowling which has been the problem for the side in most of the games so far. Karthik would be aware of the form that CSK come into this game with and his side will need to put up a better show in this game and move up on the points table. 

Tom Banton needs to open alongside Shubman Gill as Sunil Narine has looked in poor form so far in the season. In the middle order Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan and Karthik have all got runs and the side would need them to put up partnerships in this game. Andre Russell their hero from the last season hasn’t fired yet and he will need to do well down the order in company of Pat Cummins and Rahul Tripathi. 

Pat Cummins will need to pick early wickets with the new ball alongside Shivam Mavi as both of them had gone for runs in the previous game. Varun Chakravarthy was expensive as well and this is making it tough for the side. They will have to fire well as a unit with the ball. Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Russell will have lots of responsibilities in the middle overs against the strong batting line-up that Chennai Super Kings have. 

Top Batsmen – Shubman Gill     
Top Bowler – Pat Cummins 

Kolkata Knight Riders Predicted Playing XI:

Dinesh Karthik (c & wk), Shubman Gill, Tom Banton, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Eoin Morgan, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy

Kolkata Knight Riders Actual Playing XI:

Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shubman Gill, Varun Chakravarthy, Pat Cummins, Nitish Rana, Shivam Mavi, Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Dinesh Karthik, RA Tripathi

Chennai Super Kings Preview

They had been heavily criticized for their three consecutive losses but MS Dhoni’s side made a strong comeback in the last game against Kings XI Punjab to win it by 10 wickets. Their openers look in good form and the bowling attack has also done well. Having gained momentum Dhoni would like to smartly marshal his troops in this game and move up on the points table. 

The new opening combination of Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis looks in great form as of now after their terrific show in the last game. Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav will have to focus on building partnerships which has been one of the problem areas for the side so far in the season. In Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo they have good players finishing the innings for the side and shall look for quick runs from them. 

Sam Curran and Deepak Chahar haven’t got the side off to the kind of starts Dhoni would have liked with the new ball and shall expect it in this game. Shardul Thakur and Bravo need to check their line and length as they bowled without a plan in the last game. In Piyush Chawla and Jadeja the side has a good spin combination and they will need to take on the hard hitting KKR batting in this game. 

Best Batsman – Shane Watson    
Best Bowler – Sam Curran    

Chennai Super Kings Predicted Playing XI:

MS Dhoni (c & wk), Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Faf du Plessis, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Sam Curran, Shardul Thakur, Piyush Chawla, Deepak Chahar

Chennai Super Kings Actual Playing XI:

Dwayne Bravo, Ambati Rayudu, SR Watson, Deepak Chahar, SN Thakur, Ravindra Jadeja, Faf du Plessis, Karn Sharma, Kedar Jadhav, Sam Curran, MS Dhoni

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The weather would be warm and humid at Abu Dhabi on October 07. The pitch has been flat and we have seen the batsmen play confidently on the front foot so far. It has been tough bowling conditions and bowlers need to be spot-on with their line and length to do well here. The side that bats first in this game will need a score in the range of 170 to 180 runs to feel comfortable on this track. 

Venue Details

Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi is a big venue and batsmen need to use their muscle power to get the ball over the boundary rope. The ball comes on to the bat nicely and the outfield is very fast. Quick bowlers have a hard time bowling on this surface as there is nothing for them in there. Spinners on the other hand have enjoyed good success at this venue.

Toss: To Bowl

The wicket at Abu Dhabi has remained the same in both the innings in the games that has been played so far. The pitch has got slightly slower in the last few games and this gives advantage to the side that has a target in mind. Hence we believe both the skipper would prefer to invite the opposition to bat in this game upon winning the toss.