CHENNAI: As Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will take to the field against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at their home arena of Chepauk Stadium, they will be aiming to avoid a defeat not only to protect their pride, but also to not register an unfortunate record to their name.
CSK, struggling at the last spot with two wins in nine games, will be welcoming PBKS at their home venue of Chepauk on Wednesday. PBKS is at fifth spot with five wins, three losses and a no result.
This season has been a one to forget for the five-time champions so far, with their playoff chances slim to none, the remainder season is all about saving their pride and not letting the other teams breach their fortress. This time around, CSK has managed just one win in five matches at their home.
After starting off their campaign with a win over long-time rivals Mumbai Indians (MI) at home, they lost their first game to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at their home venue since 2008, breaking a massive winning streak at home, failing to chase down 197 runs and getting restricted to 146/8.
Next to improve their stats at Chepauk Stadium was Delhi Capitals (DC). A brilliant half-century from KL Rahul (77) and a fine show from spinners Vipraj Nigam and Kuldeep Yadav prevented CSK from chasing down 184, once again restricting them to 158/5 in their 20 overs.
An unfortunate hat-trick of home losses was completed against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). At their most weak and weary against Sunil Narine (3/13) and Varun Chakravarthy (2/22), CSK’s spin woes continued, restricting them to just 103/9 in their 20 overs. KKR bulldozed through the target with eight wickets and 59 balls left.
CSK’s confidence was further jolted as they faced their fourth loss at home against Sunrisers Hyderabad, having suffered a similar fate in 2008 and 2012 seasons. Both seasons saw them lose to Rajasthan Royals (RR) and KKR in the finals. In a moderately scoring match with nothing really much to write about, a four-wicket haul from Harshal Patel (4/28) restricted CSK to 154 in 19.5 overs, despite quick knocks from Ayush Mhatre (30) and Dewald Brevis (42). Ishan Kishan (44) helped SRH towards the chase while Kamindu Mendis (32*) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (19*) put the finishing touches, chasing down the target in 18.4 overs.
One more defeat and CSK will have their worst-ever season at home. Can they prevent it?
Squads:
Chennai Super Kings Squad: Shaik Rasheed, Ayush Mhatre, Deepak Hooda, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni(w/c), Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana, Anshul Kamboj, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Jamie Overton, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tripathi, Shreyas Gopal, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Andre Siddarth C, Vansh Bedi
Punjab Kings Squad: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer(c), Josh Inglis(w), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar, Musheer Khan, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Suryansh Shedge, Praveen Dubey, Marcus Stoinis, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Yash Thakur, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen, Harnoor Singh, Pyla Avinash. (ANI)
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