The Punjab Kings will face the Chennai Super Kings for the second time in the Tata Indian Premier League 2022. The battle of the Kings is scheduled for April 25 at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
PBKS have six points from three wins in seven games and sit at the eighth position in the Tata IPL points table. CSK have two wins in seven games and sit one place below PBKS with four points.
Ahead of the crucial encounter, below are a few noteworthy points:
The previous encounter between the two teams
The last time the two teams met was less than three weeks ago, and PBKS reigned supreme. Liam Livingstone got into form for the Punjab Kings and the team got two valuable performances on debut - from Vaibhav Arora and Jitesh Sharma.
Batting first, PBKS put up a total of 180/8, riding mainly on Livingstone’s 60 (32). CSK fell short of the target by 54 runs as first Arora (2/21) then Rahul Chahar (3/25) ran through the Chennai line up that night.
Form in Tata IPL so far
PBKS has three wins from seven games, with two back-to-back losses that the team needs to bounce back from. CSK started off with four losses before winning two of their next three games. This is how the teams’ form in the tournament look like -
PBKS - W, L, W, L, W, L, L
CSK - L, L, L, L, W, L, W
What this match means for the teams
For the Punjab Kings, this win is needed to steer the team towards a playoff berth. A victory will take PBKS to eight points, still below the current top-four based on points.
As for CSK, they will have to win at least six of their next seven games to stand a chance at the playoffs. While a win here will still not propel them too high up the points table, it will, nonetheless, help them keep their hopes alive in the tournament.
Arshdeep Singh vs Ravindra Jadeja
It’s the battle between a bowler who is at his measly best at the end of an innings and a big-hitter of the ball who comes down the batting order. Jadeja has scored two runs only against Singh, but the latter has gotten him out once in their brief prior meetings. This battle will be the one to look out for.
The teams at the Wankhede so far
The Punjab Kings have played only one game at the Wankhede - against the Kolkata Knight Riders - who handed PBKS a six-wicket defeat. The Kings put up 137 runs on board which the Riders chased down with 33 deliveries left thanks to a stunning assault from Andre Russell.
CSK began their title defence at the Wankhede, losing to KKR by six wickets. This game against the Punjab Kings will be their second match at this stadium. With similar results for the teams at the Wankhede, it will be interesting to see who emerges the winner in Monday’s encounter.
The Wankhede pitch is known to provide pacers and batters ample support. Recent games have been mostly high-scoring ones, and PBKS will need a big score here to raise the batting unit’s confidence.
Wash away your Monday blues with this game at 7.30 PM IST.
