IPL 2018, CSK vs KXIP: Chennai Super Kings probable playing XI to take on Kings XI Punjab

The Chennai Super Kings have all but confirmed their place in the top two of the Indian Premier League 2018.

They will take on Kings XI Punjab in their final match of the season at the MCA Stadium in Pune and the only way they can fall out of the top two is if they lose the match by a huge margin and if the Kolkata Knight Riders win their match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad by a huge margin.

CSK are coming off an unexpected loss against the Delhi Daredevils as they failed to chase down 163 runs in their 20 overs. Despite Ambati Rayudu scoring another half-century, none of the other batsmen got going and they managed to score just 128 runs, falling short of the target by 34 runs.

They will look to get back to winning ways against Punjab, who are desperate for a victory, and get some momentum ahead of their playoff match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Let's take a look at their predicted playing XI:

Shane Watson has produced some magnificent performances this season with the bat. He has been at his vintage best in few of these matches and has been able to take the game away from the opposition on his day. He failed to get going in the previous encounter and will look to get back his form in their final match of the season.

Faf du Plessis will most likely make a comeback to the playing XI in place of Sam Billings, who has not made an impact for a long time now. If he does play, Faf will open the batting along with Shane Watson.

Suresh Raina has had a decent season so far but has not been able to get going in their previous few matches. He will look to get back some form before the playoffs and provide some stability in the middle order.

Ambati Rayudu, without a doubt, has been CSK's best batsman this season. He has predominantly opened the batting, but has also played in the middle order. He has scored more than 500 runs this season and is one of the contenders for the Orange Cap. It will be interesting to see how many runs he can gather in their last round-robin match.

MS Dhoni has been at his vintage best this season and has decimated the opposition bowlers by smashing them all around the park. He is close to achieving his personal best of the most runs scored by him in a single season and will look to cross that landmark in their match against KXIP.

Ravindra Jadeja failed to make any sort of impact in the first half of the season. However, he has been quite effective with the ball over the past few matches, bowling his quota of four overs.

Dwayne Bravo has not been at his best this season, conceding a lot of runs and not picking up as many wickets as expected. However, he continues to be a vital cog in Chennai's line-up and will look to get back his form before the playoffs.

Deepak Chahar has been one of the finds of the season so far. He has been extremely effective with the new ball as he has been able to swing the ball a lot and pick up a few wickets in the powerplay.

Karn Sharma will most likely replace Harbhajan Singh in the playing XI for the final game before the playoffs as the Turbanator has not been at his best in their last couple of matches. Karn will look to make the most of his chance and cement his place in the side.

Shardul Thakur has had an average season so far. He has conceded a lot of runs and not picked up as many wickets as he would have liked. He will look to get back into form ahead of the playoffs.

Lungi Ngidi replaced David Willey in the previous encounter as he was quite effective, picking up a couple of wickets for his side. We could expect to see him play in the match against KXIP and in the playoffs as well.