Batters must come to the party for CSK against powerplay bosses KKR
In two games at Chepauk in IPL 2024 so far, fast bowlers have picked up 18 wickets, while spinners have four (and none of those have gone to CSK)
Alagappan Muthu
07-Apr-2024
Ruturaj Gaikwad has led well, but his speed of scoring at the top is a concern for CSK • AFP/Getty Images
Match details
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Chennai, 7.30pm IST (1400 GMT)
Chennai, 7.30pm IST (1400 GMT)
Big picture - A changing Chepauk
The focus at CSK seems to have shifted this year. A team that had relied on their spinners and the way their former captain used them to suffocate oppositions has, so far, played its home games in conditions where the ball isn't even stopping on the pitch, let alone turn off it. In the two matches it has hosted in IPL 2024, Chepauk has offered 18 wickets at an average of 28 to the fast bowlers, but only four at an average of 47 to the slow bowlers. CSK's share in those wickets: 13 for the quicks and zip, nada, nothing for the spinners.
KKR won't mind that things are shaping up that way because if there is opportunity to hit through the line of the ball, they have the best line-up to exploit it, starting with Sunil Narine, who has responded with a big shot to 44 of the 65 balls he's faced. That isn't just aggression. That's addiction. Having previously been forced to push him down the order to accommodate Venkatesh Iyer, KKR have gone back to their pinch-hitter to give them those high-impact starts and he hasn't disappointed.
CSK, after two losses on the road, will be wary of the threat they face. Their batters will once again bear the responsibility of getting a par-plus total, like they did against Gujarat Titans, which brings their wildcards into the picture. Shivam Dube is excelling in his role as spin-hitter again with a sky-high strike rate of 214 - only Abhishek Sharma (231) has gone better (minimum 18 balls faced). But the rest of them - Rachin Ravindra, who has the potential to do the Narine job for CSK, Ajinkya Rahane, whose transformation continues to surprise, and Daryl Mitchell, who is having a slowish start to the season - have work to do.
Form guide
CSK LLWW (IPL 2024, most recent first)
KKR WWW
KKR WWW
Team news and Impact Player strategy
Chennai Super Kings
Matheesha Pathirana was doing a little bit of bowling on Sunday, with CSK bowling consultant Eric Simons saying he was left out of the last game as a precaution. It is still unclear, though, if he is ready to play on Monday. Ditto for Mustafizur Rahman, who had to leave for home to work on getting a US visa, but is understood to be on his way to India and should link up with the team soon. Moeen Ali could keep his place given he hits Narine at a strike rate of 181 in the IPL (20 off 11 balls, two dismissals) and offers an offspin option against the left-hand batters of KKR.
Matheesha Pathirana was doing a little bit of bowling on Sunday, with CSK bowling consultant Eric Simons saying he was left out of the last game as a precaution. It is still unclear, though, if he is ready to play on Monday. Ditto for Mustafizur Rahman, who had to leave for home to work on getting a US visa, but is understood to be on his way to India and should link up with the team soon. Moeen Ali could keep his place given he hits Narine at a strike rate of 181 in the IPL (20 off 11 balls, two dismissals) and offers an offspin option against the left-hand batters of KKR.
Likely XII: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 2 Rachin Ravindra, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Shivam Dube, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 MS Dhoni (wk), 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Tushar Deshpande, 11 Mukesh Chaudhary/Shardul Thakur, 12 Maheesh Theekshana/Mustafizur Rahman
Kolkata Knight RIders
Nitish Rana, who hasn't played since KKR's opening game, tweeted that he "can't wait to get on the field", so he might be in line for a return. Harshit Rana, though, who didn't bowl in their last match despite being in the XI, arrived in Chennai with his arm in a sling. Angkrish Raghuvanshi might continue to be their Impact Player, swapping in or out for a bowler.
Nitish Rana, who hasn't played since KKR's opening game, tweeted that he "can't wait to get on the field", so he might be in line for a return. Harshit Rana, though, who didn't bowl in their last match despite being in the XI, arrived in Chennai with his arm in a sling. Angkrish Raghuvanshi might continue to be their Impact Player, swapping in or out for a bowler.
Likely XII: 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Venkatesh Iyer, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Angkrish Raghuvanshi/Nitish Rana, 6 Andre Russell, 7 Rinku Singh, 8 Ramandeep Singh, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Harshit Rana/Vaibhav Arora, 11 Varun Chakravarthy, 12 Anukul Roy/Suyash Sharma
In the spotlight - Andre Russell vs CSK
Andre Russell is the second-quickest-scoring batter so far in this IPL with a strike rate of 239. He loves playing against CSK. Four of his 11 IPL fifties have come against them. He is in form. He is feeling fit. And he is on a mission to make that West Indies team for the home World Cup. Taking him down is going to be hard work.
CSK's best option to deal with him is Pathirana, if he's fit (1 run off 3 balls, one dismissal). But keep an eye on Ravindra Jadeja as well. His head-to-head with Russell in the IPL is 32 runs in 25 balls.
Pitch and conditions
The average first-innings score at Chepauk in IPL 2024 is 189, which is a serious increase from where it was (164) in 21 matches across the previous three years. So strap in and get ready for some runs.
Stats that matter - Power-hitting masterclass on the cards
- KKR have been bossing it in the powerplay this year, going at 12 an over. Only Sunrisers Hyderabad (11.66) are getting anywhere close to the kind of explosive batting ability they have shown in the first six overs. Their opening partnership, which was trundling along at a strike rate of 109 and 131 in the last two years, is flying now. Narine and Phil Salt have a strike rate of 172 together.
- CSK, though, will hope that they can make home advantage count. They have won nine of the 13 games between these two sides at Chepauk.
- Some of the best death-overs (17-20) batters in the IPL will be on show tomorrow. Rinku Singh (26) is two away from beating Shimron Hetmyer (27) as the best six-hitter in this phase of play since IPL 2022. MS Dhoni (20) and Russell (18) are not too far behind either.
- In light of that, CSK would dearly love Pathirana to be back starting for them. He has an economy rate of 8.5 in the back-end - only Jasprit Bumrah (7.53) and Mohsin Khan (7.57) go better (minimum 24 balls bowled). Pathirana looks to be their best option to contain a KKR line-up that has power where it counts most.
Quotes
"We aren't overly concerned about Ruturaj. He's a quality cricketer. It hasn't worked out but that's the nature of high-octane cricket. You have to go out there and play with a degree of confidence. You have to go out and play with a degree of risk-taking and it'll come. He's that kind of a person, he's been really calm and focused on what he wants to do and there's not much concern in that respect."
CSK bowling consultant Eric Simons on the slow-scoring opener
CSK bowling consultant Eric Simons on the slow-scoring opener
"I feel a lot of teams and franchises today want power players who can hit boundaries and sixes which is why you see a lot of that. But I feel the game still revolves around players who can accumulate runs like a Virat Kohli. But eventually this game is about playing with a higher strike rate, whether that be singles, doubles or fours, that's your formula to success and I feel it's a very individual thing."
KKR batting coach Abhishek Nayar on how to approach batting in T20s
KKR batting coach Abhishek Nayar on how to approach batting in T20s
Alagappan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo