Match number 8- April 16, 2021
Venue – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Time – 1930 PM IST
Likely Playing Conditions –
Mumbai will witness IPL action for a second day in a row as they play host to MS Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings who had lost their first game against Delhi at the same venue. KL Rahul on the other hand will want to keep his romance with Mumbai alive after the tall run scoring run feats of his batsmen during their first game against Rajasthan Royals.
Likely Playing XI for Punjab Kings –
KL Rahul (Captain and WK), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicolas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Shah Rukh Khan, Murugan Ashwin, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, Mohammad Shami and Arshdeep Singh.
Likely Playing XI for Chennai Super Kings –
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf Du Plessis, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (Captain and Wicket Keeper), Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Sam Curran.
Likely Star Performers with the bat-
For Punjab the onus will be again on their captain KL Rahul who scored 91 to begin the tournament and showed shades of the form that he exhibited during the last edition of the IPL in 2020. Another player to look out for will be Chris Gayle who showed his power hitting ability against Rajasthan Royals during his innings of 40.
For Chennai the return of Suresh Raina who scored a half century after nearly two years will be a welcome sign as CSK will have high hopes from the Chinna Thala.
Players to tread caution with –
For Chennai it would be their captain MS Dhoni who has been having wretched time with the bat and he was out for a duck in the last game against Delhi which was his first in six years. Another player who could be looked at with caution is Dwayne Bravo as the West Indian’s performances haven’t been upto the mark.
With Punjab the patchy form of Mayank Agarwal and Nicolas Pooran could be a concern and with Dawid Malan waiting in the wings time could be running out for the talented West Indian left hander who is being spoken about highly for his power hitting skills.