A resurgent Chennai Super Kings (CSK) would look to extend their three-match winning steak but have their task cut out against Gujarat Titans (GT) when the two sides square off in an Indian Premier League (IPL 2022) game on Sunday.
Among a bunch of teams on six points each, both CSK and GT will go all out to snap the two crucial points to nose ahead in the race for play-offs.
Sunrisers began their campaign with two defeats but bounced back with three successive wins -- against Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Titans and Kolkata Knight Riders -- and look good for more, going by the trend of their improving performance.
Gujarat Titans had a morale-boosting 12-run win over Mumbai Indians in their last outing and the Sunrisers would certainly know that the Mayank Agarwal-led side, who are in the third spot, would be a tough team to beat.
All the three wins for the Sunrisers came while chasing and they have found a new hero each time.
Openers Abhishek Sharma and skipper Kane Williamson, after playing match-winning knocks against CSK and Gujarat Titans respectively, had a failure against KKR.
But with a wide range of shots at his disposal, left-handed Sharma would be aiming to give an aggressive start.
After getting the starts, Rahul Tripathi's moment of glory came against KKR when he struck a 37-ball 71 and ditto for Aiden Markram, whose 36-ball unbeaten 68 helped the team go over the line.
With the swashbuckling Nicholas Pooran, who can be brutal when in full flow, in their ranks, the Sunrisers can set or chase down a big total. Rahul, Pooran and Markram will have to once again shoulder responsibility in the middle order.
But they are up against a strong and varied Punjab attack led by South African speedster Kagiso Rabada, who has been right on the money.
Rabada would, however, need support from Vaibhav Arora, who bled 43 runs against Mumbai Indians, and the fast-improving Arshdeep Singh.
The weakest link in the Punjab attack is probably spinner Rahul Chahar, who was taken to task in the last game, where he leaked 44 runs.
Chahar will have to step up and deliver as the CSK batters will be looking to target him.
For Punjab, the biggest development is that the flamboyant opener Shikhar Dhawan is back among the runs.
Dhawan, who smashed 70 against MI, and Mayank Agarwal will have to once again give the side a solid start.
Match Details
Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings, Match No. 29
Venue: Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
Date & Time: April 17th at 7:30 PM IST
Live Streaming: Star Sports Network, Star Gold and Disney+Hotstar
GT vs CSK Dream 11 Prediction
Captain – Hardik Pandya
Vice-Captain – Shubman Gill
Keeper – Matthew Wade
Batsmen – Robin Uthappa, Shubman Gill, Shivam Dube, Abhinav Manohar
All-rounders – Hardik Pandya (C), Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali
Bowlers – Lockie Ferguson, Dwayne Bravo, Maheesh Theekshana
GT vs CSK Probable Playing XI
Gujarat Titans: Matthew Wade (wk), Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Yash Dayal, Mohammad Shami, Lockie Ferguson
Chennai Super Kings: Robin Uthappa, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (c), Dwayne Bravo, Chris Jordan, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary
