Five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) face Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in a crucial IPL match for their playoff hopes. CSK will rely on spinner Akeal Hosein and opener Sanju Samson, with key player matchups set to decide the contest.
Five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will need spinner Akeal Hosein and opener Sanju Samson at their absolute best as they aim to continue their climb up the table against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). With five wins and losses in 10 matches, CSK are in sixth place, with the team's pulse still beating for the playoffs spot. LSG, the bottom dwellers with three wins and seven losses, would be aiming to play the party spoilers as the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side eye a playoff spot, with concerns around MS Dhoni's fitness.
Key Match-ups and Analysis
Akeal's match-up with Mitchell Marsh
As per Cricbuzz, Akeal (10 wickets in five matches at an average of 12.20 and an economy rate of 6.65 with a four-fer) has a dot-ball percentage of 64.8 in the powerplay. He forms an exciting match-up with Marsh, who is the leading run-scorer among overseas batters since last season, with 994 runs in 23 innings at an average of 43.21, with a strike rate of 159.55, including two centuries and seven fifties. Marsh has a poor record against CSK, having scored 91 runs in six innings at an average of 15.16 and a strike rate of 113.75, with a best score of 30.
Samson's winning impact
While Samson has not fired consistently in the tournament, he has been a match-winner for his side whenever his bat has scored at least 20 runs. In 10 matches so far, he has made 402 runs at an average of 57.42 and a strike rate of 167.50, with two hundreds and a fifty. In wins this season, Samson has scored 362 runs in five innings at an average of 181 and a strike rate of 178.32, with two centuries and a fifty and 'Player of the Match' awards in three of these matches. In losses, he has made just 40 runs across five innings, with a strike rate of just 108.1, as per Cricbuzz.
Will Noor Ahmed devour the LSG's explosive hitters?
CSK will count on young Afghanistan spinner Noor Ahmed (11 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 27.45, including best figures of 3/21) to rip apart LSG's most elite, with the spinner having great match ups against iden Markram (39 runs in nine innings, three dismissals, strike rate of 90.69), Rishabh Pant (48 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 102.12, with a wicket) and Nicholas Pooran (48 runs in 12 innings, four dismissals at a strike rate of 82.75), as per ESPNCricinfo.
A match-up between two of the slowest
This match is between two of the slowest teams of the IPL in terms of strike rate, with CSK having a collective SR of 144.69 and LSG striking at 136.91 as a collective, struggling to keep up with the high-octane, hard-hitting brand of cricket that has largely dominated this IPL.
Shami's match-up with CSK opening duo
Shami has been sensational in the powerplay this year, as the joint-fourth-highest wicket-taker, with seven wickets. While he has not dismissed CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad in his eight meetings, he has kept him in control with just 57 runs in 74 balls at a strike rate of 77.02, including just seven fours), Sanju has dominated the veteran pacer, being dismissed just once in 10 innings and scoring 82 in 43 balls, with a strike rate of 190.69, including 13 fours and two sixes, as per Cricbuzz.
Squads
Chennai Super Kings Squad: Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Jamie Overton, Akeal Hosein, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh, MS Dhoni, Matt Henry, Sarfaraz Khan, Matthew Short, Shreyas Gopal, Shivam Dube, Rahul Chahar, Spencer Johnson, Akash Madhwal, Aman Khan, Zakary Foulkes, Prashant Veer
Lucknow Super Giants Squad: Mitchell Marsh, Arshin Kulkarni, Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Akshat Raghuwanshi, Himmat Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Mohammed Shami, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Avesh Khan, George Linde, Josh Inglis, Anrich Nortje, Manimaran Siddharth, Matthew Breetzke, Mohsin Khan, Arjun Tendulkar, Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Akash Maharaj Singh, Mukul Choudhary, Naman Tiwari.
(ANI)
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