MS Dhoni, KL Rahul
MS Dhoni, KL Rahul (Credits: Twitter)

Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will square off with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 53rd match of IPL 2020 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday afternoon. Both teams will be playing their last league match. Both teams will have different purposes while taking the field on Sunday.

On the one hand, CSK, who is already out of the playoff race, will look to try a few more youngsters and would want to go out on a high in what has been a disappointing season.  On the other hand,  Punjab will face Chennai in a must-win contest. Not only they have to win their last game, but if Sunrisers Hyderabad does manage to get to 14 points, Punjab will have to win by a big margin in order to improve their net run rate.

Kings XI Punjab
Kings XI Punjab. (Credits: IPLT20.com)

Kings XI Punjab was snapped of their five-match winning streak on Friday as their bowlers failed to defend 186 against an in-form Rajasthan Royals batting. There seem to be very few issues with KXIP’s batting even before the arrival of the Universe Boss, Chris Gayle, who struck his 1000th T20 six in the last game. Nicholas Pooran has been in tremendous six-hitting form. However, KL Rahul once again faced criticism for his slow strike-rate.

Glenn Maxwell’s lack of contribution with the bat still remains a major concern for Punjab- the Australian is yet to hit a maximum this season. Uncertainties over Mayank Agarwal’s return means Deepak Hooda and Mandeep Singh will keep their place.

After 5 wins on a trot with almost the same bowling attack, it is not a surprise that KXIP bowlers ran out of gas against RR. However, they have proved themselves capable of denting any batting line-up and will return stronger against CSK.

CSK, Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, CSK, DC, Chennai Super Kings
Chennai Super Kings [Photo-Twitter]
Chennai Super Kings have come good in their last two games, albeit a bit too late. They have defeated Kolkata and Bangalore and will look to go out of the season on a positive note against Punjab. Ruturaj Gaikwad has been their find of the season, as the youngster scored back-to-back fifties. Ravindra Jadeja with the bat and Sam Curran’s all-round show are CSK’s other major takeaways.

In the bowling department, apart from Deepak Chahar and Sam Curran, no bowler has really given any significant contributions to the three-time champions. CSK would like to give opportunities to youngsters like N Jagadeesan, Monu Kumar, KM Asif, and R Sai Kishore and figure out if they would want to keep any of them for next season.

IPL 2020, Match 53: Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings- Match Prediction

KXIP, Wasim Jaffer, KL Rahul, RCB, KXIP
Chris Gayle and KL Rahul [Photo-Twitter]
Kings XI Punjab will go all-in for their last league game. Apart from winning the match, KL Rahul will have one eye on the net run rate as well. While CSK will look to give youngsters opportunities, Punjab is expected to play its strongest eleven, which apart from the inclusion of Mayank Agarwal, might just be the same they have had in their last few games.

Punjab needs to refill their tank and hope for Glenn Maxwell to get hit his strap, as this could well be his last chance to justify his price tag. The prediction is for Kings XI Punjab to register a victory over CSK in a thumping fashion.

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