BATTLE OF KINGS
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are once again back to winning ways on home soil, and they'd be banking on its batters to put up a good show against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday.
Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad-led CSK holds an impressive 80% win record at Chepauk. Having won all but one match, they would be looking to pick up important points before they travel to Dharamsala later this week.
CSK played SRH at home earlier on Sunday and comfortably eased past them, courtesy of some responsible batting from Gaikwad and Daryl Mitchell upfront, and some hard-hitting from
Shivam Dube in the middle. CSK will be hoping that their batters continue the similar form, although there are concerns in the opening mix with
Ajinkya Rahane not operating at his usual best and Rachin Ravindra dropping form as the season progressed.
However, Gaikwad has been merrier to watch; he scored a century and fell short before another one earlier this week against SRH. "Gaikwad’s been spectacular in the past few years; he has taken the captaincy in his stride. He has captained his domestic team previously and he’s very much in the mold of CSK. He’s handling everything well," said Stephen Fleming, discussing Gaikwad’s batting since taking up the captaincy role.
CSK will be playing Punjab away from home later this weekend and will aim to win the first contest at home on Wednesday with the yellove support rallying behind the team. With the league well-open and bottom-placed teams picking up wins, it’s all the more important for CSK to win this match at home before traveling.