Find out team news, TV and streaming information, odds, weather forecasts and much, much more ahead of the next game of the 2021 Indian Premier League season
Chennai Super Kings meet Punjab Kings in the 2021 Indian Premier League.
The game is scheduled for 2pm UAE (11am BST, 3.30pm IST) on Thursday, October 7, 2021.
The two sides will meet at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai.
Chennai Super Kings have already qualified for the knockout stages. However, two points against Punjab Kings will all but assure a top-two finish and put the pressure on Delhi Capitals (and possibly Royal Challengers Bangalore) who play their final group matches on Friday. MS Dhoni's CSK won nine of their first 11 matches in the 2021 IPL but are now on a poorly-timed two-match losing streak. In their most recent outing, CSK were lost to Delhi Capitals by three wickets.
Punjab Kings, meanwhile, are sixth in the table and two points off the playoff places with one match remaining. KL Rahul's side need to beat CSK and hope that Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad defeat Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians, respectively. In that scenario, they may just sneak a top-four finish on net run rate. Unfortunately, the Kings have struggled to string results together this season, and have lost three of their past five matches.
In the reverse fixture, Chennai Super Kings won by six wickets.
Dafabet are backing Chennai Super Kings to win this fixture, offering odds of 4/7. Punjab Kings are available at 11/8.
Ruturaj Gaikwad is the favourite to top-score for Chennai, with odds of 21/10, while Rahul is the favourite for Punjab Kings. The skipper is available at 7/4.
Shardul Thakur has always been among the wickets for CSK since the IPL relocated to the UAE, with 10 of his 15 wickets coming in the second half of the tournament. However, he made a timely return to his economical best against Delhi Capitals, taking 2 for 13 from his four-over allocation - a performance which should give Dhoni confidence (if his side get put runs on the board to give their bowlers something to defend).
However, the key player for CSK - as always - is Ravindra Jadeja. The star allrounder, who is ranked 27th on the T20 Player Index, was on fire with the bat in his side's defeat to Rajasthan Royals, scoring a 15-ball 32 at number six but struggled with the ball, bowling just one over for nine runs. However, with a T20 career economy of 7.6, Jadeja can be the match-winner in both areas for CSK.
For Punjab Kings, Moises Henriques has emerged as their secret weapon. The Australian nearly caused an upset against Royal Challengers Bangalore, taking 3 for 12 with the ball before scoring 12 not out off nine balls as the Kings fell seven runs shy of victory. Henriques has delivered similar performances time and time again for Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash and he can replicate his form in his last match against CSK, Punjab Kings may be in with a top-four shout come the end of Thursday.
At the top of the order, Mayank Agarwal is also enjoying something of a purple patch, scoring 67, 5, 40 and 57 in his past four outings for Punjab. More of the same, please.
CSK will be without the services of Sam Curran for the remainder of the IPL after the England international injured his lower back. However, the 23-year-old had only been used sparingly since the tournament moved to the UAE, meaning Dhoni's first-choice XI will be unaffected.
Punjab Kings lost Chris Gayle at the start of October following his decision to withdraw from the tournament. Fellow West Indian Fabian Allen was absent from Punjab's most recent match through injury.
The two teams have played each other 24 times.
Chennai Super Kings win: 15
Punjab Kings win: 9
Hot and sunny conditions are forecast for Dubai on Thursday, with temperatures expected to peak around 35 degrees Celsius in the early afternoon.
Follow the Met Office forecast here.
Yes, a limited number of fans are allowed to attend games during the IPL's UAE leg.
Despite their recent patchy form and Punjab Kings having everything to play for, Chennai Super Kings should edge this fixture.
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
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, Josh Hazlewood
Punjab Kings squad: KL Rahul (c), Chris Gayle (withdrew October 1), 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, Moises Henriques, Jalaj Saxena, Utkarsh Singh, Fabian Allen, Saurabh Kumar, Nathan Ellis, Adil Rashid, Aiden Markram
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Josh Hazlewood
Punjab Kings: KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Sarfaraz Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Moises Henriques, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi
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