IPL 2021, Match 8: Punjab Kings vs Chennai Super Kings (PBKS vs CSK) – Match Preview And Prediction

In the eighth match of the IPL 2021, Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will meet for the first time in this IPL season at Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai) this Friday (16th April).

Both teams will play their second match of this IPL 2021. CSK have started this season with a seven-wicket defeat while PBKS claimed a four-wicket victory in their season opener.

IPL 2021, Match 8: Punjab Kings vs Chennai Super Kings (PBKS vs CSK) – Match Preview

Punjab Kings (PBKS)

Though Punjab Kings (PBKS) have got a positive start in the IPL 2021 by beating Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 4 runs, it was not a convincing victory for them. However, the most important part was that they won their season opener and earned two points from that game.

Though Mayank Agarwal (14) failed to impress in that game, captain KL Rahul maintained his strong image in IPL as he scored 91 off 50 balls. Also, Caribbean superstar Chris Gayle scored 40 off 28 balls while Deepak Hooda smashed 64 off 28 balls despite playing his first professional match since the IPL 2020.

Despite scoring 221/6 (20 overs), KXIP struggled to win that game majorly due to the incredible batting of RR captain Sanju Samson, who scored an incredible 119 off 63 balls. Though Mohammed Shami (2/33) and Arshdeep Singh (3/35) bowled really well, other bowlers conceded big runs, including Jhye Richardson (1/55). But while KXIP bowlers managed to pick up wickets in important moments, Arshdeep successfully defended 13 runs in the final over of that match.

Full 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, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, Dawid Malan, Shahrukh Khan, Moises Henriques, Jalaj Saxena, Utkarsh Singh, Saurabh Kumar, Fabian Allen.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have started the IPL 2021 with a seven-wicket defeat against Delhi Capitals (DC) as their opponents easily chased down the 189 runs target.

After the openers, Ruturaj Gaikwad (5) and Faf Du Plessis (0) were dismissed cheaply, Moeen Ali and Suresh Raina controlled that innings with the knocks of 36 and 54 runs respectively. Later, Ambati Rayudu scored 23 runs while Ravindra Jadeja was not out on 26 runs. However, captain MS Dhoni scored a duck but Sam Curran scored 34 off just 15 balls to help CSK to manage a challenging first innings total.

However, CSK bowlers failed to take early wickets as the 138 runs opening partnership was enough for their opponents to take full control in that game. While Dwayne Bravo had bowling figures of 4-0-28-1, Shardul Thakur was expensive but got the other two wickets (3.4-0-53-2).

Full Squad

MS Dhoni (C), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Sam Curran, Faf Du Plessis, Deepak Chahar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Narayanan Jagadeesan, Lungi Ngidi, Shardul Thakur, Ambati Rayudu, R Sai Kishore, Mitchell Santner, Karn Sharma, Imran Tahir, KM Asif, Robin Uthappa, Krishnappa Gowtham, Moeen Ali, Cheteshwar Pujara, Harishankar Reddy, Bhagath Verma, C Hari Nishanth, Jason Behrendorff (will miss at least first two matches of this season).

IPL 2021, Match 8: Punjab Kings vs Chennai Super Kings (PBKS vs CSK) – Match Prediction

While Punjab Kings won their first game of this season, Chennai Super Kings lost their first outing of this tournament. However, currently, there is not much favourite between them despite CSK have better head-to-head records against PBKS (15-9), including winning both the matches in the last season.