Last Updated on 3 months by Charbel Coorey
IPL 2021 Match 53: CSK vs PBKS Dream11 Prediction & Fan2Play Possible Playing 11 Pitch Report | CSK vs PBKS Dream11 Prediction Today | Chennai Super Kings vs Punjab Kings Key Players | Dubai Pitch Report
After having suffered consecutive defeats in their last two matches, the MS Dhoni-led unit will be looking to shrug off the blip and seal a top-two spot when they lock horns with the Punjab Kings in Dubai on Friday afternoon.
The last once again exposed CSK’s overwhelming dependence on their opening duo of Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad. The duo got dismissed cheaply in the last game and with Moeen Ali and MS Dhoni not in the best of form, it was left to Ambati Rayudu to salvage the innings.
Rayudu accelerated brilliantly in the end to help CSK post 136 in 20 overs which nearly proved to be enough in the end thanks to some poor batting by Delhi.
However, the dropped catch by Krishnappa Gowtham of Shimron Hetmyer and some poor death bowling by Dwayne Bravo meant that it was too close yet too far for the MS Dhoni-led unit.
As for Punjab Kings, their chances of qualifying for playoffs are as good as over thanks to yet another meltdown by their middle-order in the last game against RCB. The Rahul-led unit will look to cap off the campaign on a high on Thursday.
Key Players to Watch/Key Stats
Chennai Super Kings:
- Faf du Plessis: The former South African skipper will be looking to shrug off the blip from the last game and register another substantial score.
- Du Plessis loves batting against Punjab. In 11 innings, he has scored 538 runs at an average of 53.8 and a strike rate of 146.19 with 6 50+ scores.
- Ruturaj Gaikwad: The young opener has been in sensational form this year, especially in the UAE leg. He has already racked up unbeaten scores of 88* and 101*
- Gaikwad had racked up 67 runs in his two outings against Punjab.
- Ambati Rayudu: The middle-order batsman smashed an unbeaten 43-ball 55 in the last game against DC. His record vs Punjab: 378 runs in 19 innings at 19.89.
- Ravindra Jadeja: The southpaw has been the MVP for CSK this season, especially with bat at the death. In 10 innings, he has scored 212 runs at a strike rate of 152.52 besides claiming 10 wickets at 27.27.
- His record vs Punjab: 274 runs in 15 innings at 24.9 and 13 wickets in 18 innings.
- Deepak Chahar: The swing bowler registered figures of 4/19 in his last outing against Punjab.
- His record vs Punjab: 6 wickets in 8 matches.
- Shardul Thakur: The ‘Lord’ was once again at his absolute best in the last game as he claimed a couple of crucial wickets besides giving just 13 runs in four overs. He will once again be crucial during the middle overs.
Punjab Kings
- KL Rahul: The stylish opener has once again been a consistent scorer for his team this season. In 12 games, he has scored 528 runs at an average of 52.8 and a strike rate of 129.1.
- His record vs CSK: 297 runs in 9 innings at an average of 33 and a strike rate of 125.3.
- Mayank Agarwal: Rahul may have got more runs but Mayank has been the most impactful batsman for Punjab this session. The right-hander smashed a 42-ball 57 in the last game but fell at the wrong time. His record vs CSK: 226 runs in 13 innings at 17.4. Can he improve on this?
- Ravi Bishnoi: The young leg-spinner has been absolutely sensational in whatever opportunities he has got this season.
- He did not claim a wicket in the last game but it is fair to say that he had got RCB batters on strings and if Rahul had held onto his opportunities, he would have claimed at least a wicket or two.
- Arshdeep Singh: The young left-arm seamer had a tough outing in the last game against RCB but he has been sensational for large parts of the season. In 11 games, he has claimed 16 wickets with three of them coming in the fixture against KKR a few days ago.
- Also, Arshdeep loves bowling at Dubai, with 15 wickets in six matches at an average of 12.33 and strike rate of 8.73.
Stats and Facts
- Both sides have locked horns 25 times with CSK leading the ledger 16-9.
- CSK have won each of their last three fixtures against Punjab including the one in Dubai last year.
- Suresh Raina has the most runs (719) in CSK-PBKS fixtures while DJ Bravo has the most wickets (15) among the current crop of players in both sides.
Possible Playing 11
Chennai Super Kings: 1. Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2. Faf du Plessis, 3. Moeen Ali, 4. Suresh Raina/Robin Uthappa, 5. Ambati Rayudu, 6. MS Dhoni (c & wk), 7. Ravindra Jadeja, 8. Dwayne Bravo, 9. Shardul Thakur, 10. Deepak Chahar, 11. Josh Hazlewood
Punjab Kings: 1. KL Rahul (c & wk), 2. Mayank Agarwal, 3. Nicholas Pooran, 4. Aiden Markram, 5. Sarfaraz Khan, 6. Shah Rukh Khan, 7. Moises Henriques, 8. Harpreet Brar, 9. Mohammed Shami, 10. Ravi Bishnoi, 11. Arshdeep Singh
Sharjah pitch report and weather conditions
The pitch at the Dubai International Stadium has been slow and sluggish and much of the same is expected on Thursday.
As far as the weather is concerned, it is expected to be dry and sunny. The temperatures are set to hover between 28-37 degrees Celsius. Humidity is set to be around 46 percent.
Dream11 Prediction
Option 1:
Option 2:
Fan2Play Prediction
Base team:
- Wicket-keepers: KL Rahul
- Batsmen: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mayank Agarwal
- All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo
- Bowlers: Mohammed Shami, Deepak Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
Also read: Fan2Play vs Dream11 – What’s the difference?
Match Prediction
Chennai Super Kings will start as overwhelming favourites.
Written by Yash Mittal. Follow Yash on Twitter today.
