Find out team news, TV and streaming information, odds, weather forecasts and much, much more ahead of the eighth game of the new Indian Premier League season
Chennai Super Kings take on Punjab Kings in the eighth match of the 2021 IPL.
The game is scheduled for 7.30pm IST (3pm BST) on Friday, April 16, 2021.
Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium is hosting the game.
Punjab Kings got their 2021 tournament off to a winning start with a four-run victory over Rajasthan Royals. Batsmen KL Rahul (91 off 50 delivieres) and Deepak Hooda (64 off 28) were in destructive form while Indian duo Mohammad Shami and Arshdeep Singh were the pick of the bowlers, with two and three wickets, respectively.
CSK, however, got their tournament off to a disappointing start with defeat against Delhi Capitals. Dhoni’s side started poorly, falling to 7 for two inside three overs before Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran combined to post a competitive 188 for seven. However, CSK were expensive with ball in hand and conceded defeat with eight balls remaining.
Dafabet have Punjab Kings as the favourites at 5/6, while Chennai Super Kings are available at 19/20.
Punjab’s opening duo of KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal are also the favourites to have the highest opening partnership, with odds of 3/4.
South Africa’s Faf du Plessis, out for a duck in CSK’s season opener against Delhi Capitals, is at 13/5 to be his side’s leading run-scorer while captain Rahul is at 15/8 to top score for Punjab.
KL Rahul was the orange cap in last year’s tournament, scoring 670 runs in 14 appearances, and he’s carried that form into 2021. He played a true captain’s knock against Rajasthan, smashing 91 off just 50 deliveries to anchor his side’s innings. Ranked 10th on the T20 Player Index, Rahul is in the form of his life and clearly intent on defending his batting crown.
Also, watch out for Deepak Hooda who scored 64 runs (four fours and six sixes) off 28 deliveries against Rajasthan. Destructive, eye-catching and a game-changing batsman.
For CSK, Sam Curran is rapidly becoming their star player. Against Delhi, he plundered 34 runs from just 15 deliveries to push his side beyond the 180 mark. He didn’t quite reach the same heights with the ball – conceding 24 runs from his two overs – but proved his worth last season with 13 wickets and an economy of 8.19. If he can get his two skills to sync up, CSK could have this season’s ace in their pack.
Punjab Kings are expected to be fully fit ahead of Friday’s clash. However, after proving expensive with the ball on debut, both Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith may find themselves bumped from the starting XI. England pacer Chris Jordan, who has 21 wickets at an economy of 9.33 in 20 IPL appearances, could come in as a replacement, or Aussie allrounder Moises Henriques.
South African pacer Lungi Ndidi and Australia’s Jason Behrendorff remain unavailable for CSK, depriving MS Dhoni of two potent bowlers.
The two teams have played each other 23 times.
Punjab Kings wins: 9
Chennai Super Kings wins: 14
Temperatures are expected to hover between 30 and 35 degrees Celcius with conditions forecast to be sunny, clear and still.
No, this match will be played behind closed doors owing to the Covid-19 situation in India.
With a favourable head-to-head record, adrenalin pumping after their last gasp victory over Rajasthan, and KL Rahul in devastating form, Punjab Kings should collect two points.
IPL TEAM GUIDES
Sky Sports have the rights in the United Kingdom.
You can aso stream the tournament using the Disney+ Hotstar digital platform, though the matches are only available for VIP or Premium subscribers.
Star Sports have the television rights in India.
Streaming service YuppTV have acquired digital streaming rights in a host of markets, including Australia, continental Europe, Malaysia, Southeast Asia with the exception of Singapore, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, Central Asia, and Central and South America.
In the USA, the games will be broadcast on Willow TV and the Willow TV website. Fox Sports have the broadcasting rights in Australia, while Supersport will televise the games in South Africa. In the Caribbean, Flow TV have the rights.
The following broadcasters owning the rights for their respective regions:
Bangladesh: Channel 9
Afghanistan: Lemar TV
Malaysia: Measat
MENA/UAE: BeIN Sport
Hong Kong: Now TV
Singapore: SingTel
New Zealand: Sky Sport
Papua New Guinea: EMTV
Punjab Kings squad: KL Rahul (c), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Prabhsimran Singh, Mohammed Shami, Chris Jordan, Darshan Nalkande, Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Ishan Porel, Dawid Malan, Jhye Richardson, Shahrukh Khan, Riley Meredith, Moises Henriques, Jalaj Saxena, Utkarsh Singh, Fabian Allen, Saurabh Kumar
Chennai Super Kings squad: Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Narayan Jagadeesabn, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KM Asif, Karn Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chahar, Faf du Plessis, Shardul Thakur, Mitchell Santner, Dwayne Bravo, Lungi Ngidi, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Imran Tahir, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, K Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, M.Harisankar Reddy, K.Bhagath Varma, C Hari Nishaanth, R Sai Kishore, Jason Behrendorff
Punjab: KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle,Deepak Hooda, Nicolas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Chris Jordan, Riley Meredith, Murugan Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami
CSK: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar
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