IPL 2019, CSK vs KKR: Three interesting player battles to watch out for

The yellow army will be hosting the Knights in their home ground in Chepauk on Tuesday. Both teams have had an excellent IPL so far with each team having won 4 out of the 5 games they have played.

Both teams are also coming out after satisfying wins and will be looking to get some more momentum. Whichever team wins the match will top the table and both teams will be desperate to get this win.

It should be an exciting affair between the two teams as Chepauk is traditionally a spin pitch and the team with better spinners make the case for a win. Interestingly, both sides have a spin-heavy attack and the spinners from both sides have been successful too.

Karthik will be relying heavily on Narine, Kuldeep and Piyush Chawla to get the team across the line while MSD also has a lot of spin options. On that note, let us have a look at three match-ups that could decide the fate of the game.

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#3 Andre Russell vs Imran Tahir

CSK will want to stop one man in the KKR line-up and that big man will be Andre Russell. Russell has already destroyed four bowling attacks to get his team to a victory single-handedly. His strike rate is second to none this IPL and he has been the savior of his team.

Imran Tahir similarly has been exceptional for Chennai. He has kept his team in the game and has picked wickets at important occasions to stop teams from getting to a huge total. He is an absolute match-winner and CSK will be relying on him to get rid of Andre Russell.

Going by stats, Russell has quite a poor record against Tahir. He strikes at a rate below 100 and in the 11 deliveries that he has faced, he has been dismissed once. It will be interesting to see if the South African leggie can get better of the big man once again.

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#2 Ambati Rayudu vs Piyush Chawla

Can Rayudu return to form? Image Courtesy: IPLT20/BCCI

Let us face it. Ambati Rayudu has had a very poor IPL and he really needs to get going or else he might be dropped from the team. He has scored only 55 runs in five innings and he will desperately be looking to get a big score.

Piyush Chawla meanwhile has had a good IPL so far. Though he has gone wicketless in the past two matches, his economical bowling has really created a lot of pressure on the opposite teams. He will be looking to help himself with a couple of wickets on the Chepauk wicket.

Going by stats, though Ambati Rayudu strikes at 170+ against the experienced spinner, Piyush Chawla still holds an upper hand. He has dismissed Rayudu four times in IPL so far. He hasn't managed to score a lot of runs against him and he will have to plan his innings well if he wants to outsmart Chawla and get a big score.

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#1 Shane Watson vs Sunil Narine

Can Narine get rid of Watson once again?

Shane Watson has had a dismal IPL so far. He has gotten starts but has failed to convert them into big scores. With a new opening partner in the form of Faf du Plessis, Watson might be relived as Faf can play the role of the aggressor while he settles down. Watson really needs a big score and this might be the opportunity.

Narine's bowling meanwhile hasn't been too useful for KKR. He has picked up only one wicket in the four matches that he has played and his economy rate is the only thing that helps him. With the spin assisting pitch of Chepauk, he will be wanting to be amongst the wickets again and this might be the golden opportunity for him to do it.

Going by stats, the Australian opener doesn't have a good record against Narine. Watson strikes at a rate less than 100 against Narine and has scored only 26 runs against him. Narine meanwhile has dismissed Watson on three occasions and would want to do it again. With Watson opening batting for Chennai and Narine often bowling in the power play, it would be quite an interesting match up to watch.

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