The second set of matches for the teams in the IPL 2023 season get underway on Monday and the first two taking to the stage for the second time are the Chennai Super Kings and the Lucknow Super Giants when they meet in Chepauk.
These two had very different results in their opening match as the Super Kings were comfortably beaten by the defending champions Gujarat Titans while the Super Giants rolled over Delhi Capitals to get an opening win.
Chennai Super Kings
There is a school of thought that the Chennai Super Kings are a fading force these days, despite only last winning this title in 2021, however they have one of the best home records in the Indian Premier League and a return to Chennai after a long time away could give them the injection of adrenaline they need to be competitive once again. They have always picked their squad for these conditions so in theory we should expect a strong showing from the Super Kings.
Where the doubts come in is with their opening performance where in truth only one batter got going for them and after he laid a good platform for them to build on, they didn’t really take advantage of that and were made to pay the price. The other negative for the Super Kings going into this match is that one of the spinners they will rely on, Maheesh Theekshana, is still on international duty. It might be time for someone like Moeen Ali to step up with the ball.
Lucknow Super Giants
The Lucknow Super Giants got off to a brilliant start in the competition. You get the impression that with the tournament going back to the original home grounds for a full season for the first time in four years that home advantage will be significant in front of crowds desperate to see their stars in action after missing out for so long. Lucknow made the most of that in their opening game when they demolished the Delhi Capitals with a really good all-round display.
On what has been a sluggish wicket in the last few months, the Super Giants piled on the runs and then when they had the ball in their hand they were absolutely ruthless. They will be looking for a similar performance in this match and they will know there is more to come from them because although he won’t be around for this game, Quinton de Kock is on his way and he’ll give them another option.
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Key Players
Moeen Ali was sent in to bat at three in the first game and needs to get himself in and start launching into big scores rather than getting out in the 20s and 30s. You’d think his off spin will come in handy here too.
Mark Wood faces the team he used to represent in this match and he does so off the back of five wickets and an emphatic start to life with his new franchise. Lucknow Super Giants will hope he can deliver similar on a tackier pitch.
Betting
We haven’t really had a match in this tournament where the scoring for both teams has been low just yet but we might get one of those on Monday because this Chennai pitch is known to be slow and sluggish. There was an ODI here between India and Australia recently where spin dominated. That certainly didn’t come as a surprise and I think we could be in for a low scoring match here as a result of that.
Apart from Ruturaj Gaikwad nobody really looked like they were in much nick with the bat for Chennai in their opening game while Lucknow have a bunch of players who are a whole lot better when the ball comes onto the bat as opposed to when it doesn’t. You’d think the toss would be big here as whoever ends up batting first can then swap a batter for a spinner via the Impact Player rule so rather than bet on the match outcome I’ll take under 328.5 runs in this one as scoring in the second innings against an extra spinner could be very tough.
Tips
Back Under 328.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Betway
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