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The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) take on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 38th match of IPL 2021 on Sunday, 26th September, at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. It will be the first match of the Sunday double-header, with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI) squaring off later in the day.
Both sides have won their first two games of the UAE leg and have a lot of momentum heading into this match. CSK beat RCB by six wickets in their last encounter, while KKR thrashed MI by seven wickets, with nearly five overs to spare.
CSK bowled well to restrict RCB to 156/6 at Sharjah. Despite conceding a great start to RCB, they clawed their way back into the game, courtesy of some good bowling performances from DJ Bravo, Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja.
Having been set a target of 157, CSK were in control of the chase, with Ruturaj Gaikwad continuing his excellent form with a 26-ball 38. Contributions from Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali and Ambati Rayudu kept the runs flowing as MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina finished things off for CSK.
KKR, meanwhile, got their matchups right against MI and bowled well to restrict them to 155/6 in their 20 overs. Their spinners were economical and conceded only 42 runs between them in eight overs.
Chasing even an average target is challenging against a strong MI bowling lineup, but KKR did exceptionally well in that regard. Their new opening combination of Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer got them off to a great start. Despite losing Gill, Iyer and Rahul Tripathi blazed their way through MI's bowling lineup.
The run rate was always above ten runs per over, and apart from Bumrah, none of the MI bowlers came close to picking up wickets. KKR finished the game off with 29 balls to spare and moved above MI in the points table, boosting their chances of making it to the playoffs.
The last time CSK and KKR met, it was a high-scoring match that CSK won pretty comfortably. We can expect a thrilling contest this time around, with both sides in good form.
IPL 2021: CSK vs KKR Match Details
Date: September 26, 2021 (Sunday)
Time: 3:30 PM IST
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Weather Forecast
It should be a hard day under the sun for the team bowling first at Abu Dhabi, with an average temperature of around 37 degrees Celsius expected.
Pitch Report
Abu Dhabi looks like a decent wicket for the fast bowlers, but the spinners are slowly getting into the act as well. Both these sides have adopted a high-risk batting approach, and we can expect a relatively high-scoring contest. A score of around 170-180 could be a challenging total.
Predicted XIs
Chennai Super Kings
CSK rarely tinker with a set combination, and they appear to have settled on one for the UAE conditions. We should see MS Dhoni field the same team for this game.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK): Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf Du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (C/WK), DJ Bravo, Josh Hazlewood, Shardul Thakur, and Deepak Chahar.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Despite KKR's love for matchups, they're unlikely to make any changes to combat CSK's strengths. They look to have a solid playing XI with plenty of bowling options and should go in with an unchanged side.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (C), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy, and Prasidh Krishna.
IPL 2021: CSK vs KKR Match Prediction
This one is tough to call, with both sides looking strong and having some winning momentum behind them. However, CSK's batting depth is better than KKR's, and if they pick up early wickets, it might be a challenge for KKR to cope. That's why MS Dhoni's side has a slight edge over their opponents in this match.
Prediction: CSK to win.
IPL 2021: CSK vs KKR - TV and Live Streaming Details
TV: Star Sports Network.
Live Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar VIP.
