Mumbai: Punjab Kings will be looking to get back to winning ways when they take on Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League match here at Wankhede stadium on Monday.
Punjab have six points from three wins in seven games and sit at the eighth position in the points table. CSK have two wins in seven games and are placed ninth with four points.
Ravindra Jadeja's CSK are high on confidence with two wins in last three games after four consecutive losses. In the last match, Chennai defeated arch-rivals Mumbai Indians by three wickets in a last-ball thriller.
Mayank Agarwal-led Punjab lost two games in their last three outings. They suffered a huge nine-wicket defeat at the hands of Delhi Capitals in their previous match.
For CSK, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu and Shivam Dube will set a strong foundation to ease pressure off the middle order. Gaikwad has to bring back his form to add more runs on the board in the powerplay.
Meanwhile, MS Dhoni continues to impress with his finishing skills. In the bowling unit, Dwayne Bravo will lead the bowling attack. The likes of Mukesh Choudhary and Maheesh Theekshana regaining their rhythm is an added positive.
On the other hand, Punjab have skipper Mayank, Shikhar Dhawan and Liam Livingstone in the top order who will be looking to create troubles for CSK bowlers.
Jonny Bairstow's form is still a serious concern for Punjab. Odean Smith and Shahrukh Khan can do wonders in the lower order with their big hits.
Bowling-wise, Kagiso Rabada and Arshdeep Singh will be looking to showcase match-winning performance. Rahul Chahar needs to return with better figures.
Chennai Super Kings squad: Ravindra Jadeja (c), MS Dhoni, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Robin Uthappa (wk), Dwayne Bravo, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Devon Conway, Mitchell Santner, Dwaine Pretorious, Narayan Jagadeesan (wk), Tushar Deshpande, Deepak Chahar (injured), Adam Milne, Chris Jordan, Maheesh Theekshana, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, KM Asif, Mukesh Choudhary, Prashant Solanki, Simarjeet Singh, Bhagath Varma, Hari Nishanth, Subhranshu Senapati.
Punjab Kings squad: Mayank Agarwal (c), Vaibhav Arora, Arshdeep Singh, Jonny Bairstow, Baltej Singh, Raj Bawa, Rahul Chahar, Writtick Chatterjee, Rishi Dhawan, Shikhar Dhawan, Nathan Ellis, Harpreet Brar, Benny Howell, Liam Livingstone, Prerak Mankad, Ansh Patel, Ishan Porel, Prabhsimran Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Sandeep Sharma, Shahrukh Khan, Jitesh Sharma, Odean Smith, Atharva Taide. (UNI)
