There is another double header of action in the Indian Premier League on Sunday and we are off to Chepauk for the opening game of the two as the Chennai Super Kings take on the Punjab Kings in a key match in the race for the top four.
The Super Kings can move level on points with the Gujarat Titans with a win here while Punjab will latch onto the top four should they come out on top so this feels like a big game as we begin the race for the spots in the finals.
Chennai Super Kings
The Chennai Super Kings were top of the pile at the halfway mark but a heavy defeat to the Rajasthan Royals has left them in fourth place, albeit a couple of teams above them have played a game more. They will return to second spot with a win in this one and that will be significant because if they can finish the season in the top two then they will get two bites at the cherry when it comes to making the final, the first of which will be on their home ground.
Chennai have been a team full of runs this season. I’m not sure that was how they had planned their season to go but injuries to some key bowlers has probably left them with no other choice. That always comes with risk but to be fair they have loaded their side with attacking batters and all of them are embracing the challenge. You would imagine the longer the tournament goes on the more their spinners will be able to get some control of the matches but for now their batters are the ones carrying the workload.
Punjab Kings
The Punjab Kings came out of the blocks in really good shape with a pair of wins from their opening two matches but finding successive wins since then is something which has eluded them. That has seen them slide away from the top four and so they are going to need to find some consistency pretty quickly if they are going to be a force over the remainder of the season. They have all the tools in place to be a top four team but they need to put those cogs into the machine and get results.
The batting for the Kings has been in decent order, even in the last two matches, but their bowling has conceded 200 or more twice and at least 170 on two other occasions. When you look down the bowling options that they have available to them that is a record which is hard to believe, even allowing for the fact that their home ground has a flat pitch and a fast outfield and that the new rules have made this tournament much higher scoring.
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Key Players
If this is going to be a high scoring match then the Chennai Super Kings will be looking at Ruturaj Gaikwad to get them off to a fast start. All those who follow can spring from a platform if he is able to build it for them.
This ground certainly isn’t big enough for Liam Livingstone so if he can find the middle of the bat then he is likely to keep the runs coming for the Punjab Kings. His spin might come in handy on this ground as well.
Betting
I’m expecting a high scoring game here but I am aware that this is a day game and they have tended to be lower than the night matches with dew not a factor and intense heat drying the wickets out so I am a little wary of taking the boundaries or runs or anything, but at the same time with the way these two teams have bowled over the last week I am not exactly rushing to be on any unders either so I’m going to go outside the box for a bet in this match.
I think the new ball will come onto the bat in this match regardless of any other factors and the Chennai seamers have been going the distance in this tournament so I can see the Punjab Kings getting a flyer in the powerplay. Tushar Deshpande has an economy rate of 10.90 in the tournament and Akash Singh 9.56 so if they bowl their usual four overs at their average economy rate then Punjab will be on close to 40 with two overs to go in the powerplay. That makes me think that Punjab to get more than 48.5 runs in the opening six overs is a good thing.
Tips
Back Punjab Kings – Over 48.5 runs in the powerplay for a 3/10 stake at 1.85 with Betway
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