CSK vs KKR Match Preview- IPL 2024, Match 22

The CSK vs KKR IPL 2024 match is the 22nd match of the season. This is the first time both teams face this season starting off the rivalry week on Monday, April 8.

Date and Venue

The CSK vs KKR IPL 2024 match will be played on April 8 from 7.30 pm IST. CSK are heading into this match on the back of two consecutive losses. KKR, on the other hand, won three games on the bounce. In 31 games between the two sides, the Chennai Super Kings have won 19 games and Kolkata Knight Riders 13.

CSK vs KKR Match Preview- IPL 2024, Match 22

Chennai Super Kings

So far in the first four games, CSK have won two games at home and lost both their away matches. The Super Kings lost their last two games against DC and SRH. Against D, they failed to chase 192 while against SRH they failed to defend 165.

Against SRH particularly, the absence of Mustafizur Rahman and Matheesha Pathiaran hurt the Yellow Army. While "The Fizz" was unavailable for the game, Pathirana had a slight niggle.

The other major concern has been the CSK openers failing in the last two games. While Rachin Ravindra scored two and 12 in the last two games, Gaikwad scored 26 against SRH and is yet to score a fifty in the season so far. The CSK skipper scored 590 runs for the franchise last season.

Against a high-flying KKR side, they need to be tactically astute at home. KKR have got enough batting and bowling depth to challenge the Super Kings at home.

CSK Squad

Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Mandal, Mukesh Choudhary, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Mitchell Santner, Simarjeet Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana, Rachin Ravindra, Shardul Thakur, Daryl Mitchell, Sameer Rizvi, Mustafizur Rahman, Avanish Rao Aravelly, Matheesha Pathirana

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Kolkata Knight Riders

KKR won three matches on the trot for the first time in their IPL history. They were lucky to win against SRH by four runs but dominated RCB and Delhi Capitals. They chased down 182 against RCB with ease and piled up 272/7 against Dc which is the second-highest total in the IPL.

The move to stick with Sunil Narine as an opener has paid off in the last two games. How he fares against CSK will be an interesting observation. It has been a cumulative batting and bowling effort from KKR so far.

Mitchell Starc got two wickets in the last game which is good news for KKR. Angkrish Raghuvanshi was the Impact Player in the last game.

Given the spinning conditions in Chennai, KKR might use Suyash Sharma as the Impact sub for this game. There are injury concerns over Nitish Rana who coped up a finger injury and has missed the last two games.

KKR Squad

Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Phil Salt, Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, KS Bharat, Chetan Sakariya, Mitchell Starc, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Allah Ghazanfar, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain

CSK vs KKR: Key Battles

Sunil Narine vs Deepak Chahar

Narine has scored runs in the last two games as an opener and given KKR flying starts. CSK will look to pick him up early with Deepak Chahar likely to be his matchup.

Andre Russell vs Matheesha Pathirana

Russell has been batting very well in this season so far. He has already had scores of 62 and 41 in the first three games. He was cleaned up by a pinpoint yorker by Ishant Sharma in the previous game. CSK might bring on Pathirana against him in the final overs.

MS Dhoni vs Sunil Narine / Varun Chakravarthy

Dhoni has found it tough against the KKR spinners. Narine has dismissed him twice in the IPL, while Chakravarthy has dismissed him thrice conceding just 11 runs off 16 balls. In case he walks out to bat, Gautam Gambhir is likely to unleash these two spinners against him.

CSK vs KKR: Key Players

For CSK, skipper Rururaj Gaikwad, Rachin Ravindra Ajinkya Rahane, and Shivman Dube hold the key with the bat. With the ball, Deepak Chahar, Ravindra Jadeja, and Matheesha Pathirana are key.

For KKR on form, Sunil Narine has emerged as a key batter along with Phil Salt. Andre Russell and Rinku Singh will be key in the final overs. The KKR spin trio of Narine, Chakravarthy, and Suyash Sharma will be key for this game.

CSK vs KKR: Weather and Pitch

The weather conditions will be hot and humid for this CSK vs KKR IPL 2025 match. The temperatures will be around 30 degrees with humidity levels as high as 80 percent. There is no chance of rain.

Talking about the pitch, statistically, 47 out of the 78 IPL games played at this venue have been won by the team batting first. KKR batting first piled up 272 against DC in Vizag. Conditions will be very different here and thus the decision to bat first or chase will be tactical and based on the strengths of the two teams.

Also Read CSK vs KKR Match Articles

• KKR Playing XI
• CSK Playing XI
• CSK vs KKR Head-to-Head Records
• CSK vs KKR Live Streaming Details
• CSK vs KKR Weather Report
• CSK vs KKR Dream11 Prediction

Conclusion

CSK have a favorable head-to-head record against KKR. Both teams won a game each last year at each other's home grounds. Chennai Super Kings are heading into this game after two back-to-back losses and will be under some pressure. KKR's winning momentum should give them confidence.

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