1. Background:
The last time these two teams met it was an one sided affair. CSK did not turn up in Lucknow and LSG was in cruise mode to hand Chennai a beating. They now meet again at Chepauk where Chennai has over 70% win rate in all the matches played so far. Both the teams sit at 8 points and would want to get these 2 vital points to get a little elbow room against Mumbai and Delhi. They would want to close all the possibilities of a Mumbai resurgence. Lucknow under a new coach is struggling to have the consistency they had in the last season and primary reason is their bowling attack. Bar Mohsin and Bishnoi and two match winning spells by Mayank Yadav they have still not cracked the code for the bowling. Batting has also been inconsistent with D Kock, Stoinis and Pooran all running hot and cold.
Chennai on the other hand has struggled to string in consistent wins outside their citadel. That can also be attributed to non availability of Pathirana and Mustafizur in the away games. They however won’t have those issues when LSG visit them. Chennai will have a full squad to choose from and expect them to have a better performance than the last time these two teams met.
2. Ground & Pitch:
Chepauk has always been a fortress for Chennai. The pitch this year began differently from what it had been the previous season but with the summer beating down the pitch has shown signs of returning back to it’s old avatar. A tiger does not change it’s spots and Chennai thrive in these conditions. The last innings here have been 173, 206 and 137 where two games have been won by team batting second. The one time 206 was scored Shivam Dubey latched on to the spinners from Gujarat. The pacers from Gujarat were ineffective and Rashid was toothless. So if we leave that 206 aside we expect a middling total in Chennai. CSK knows the conditions well, they would like to bat second but even if they are put in bat first they know what kind of total is needed to win in Chepauk.
3. Players To Watch For Chennai
Shivam Dubey is the talk of town this year for Chennai and for several reasons. He is challenging Hardik for the All rounder spot in the World Cup and so far he is winning the battle. He had a failed outing in the previous fixture against LSG trying to pull and he would want to make amends.
Dhoni is in prime form. Problem is he is coming too late to bat. The way he is batting it can almost be an idea to send him top the order and let him bat the same way he is. At 255 strike rate Chennai would want more balls for him. The Mumbai game for example was purely won by his late order striking. If he gets out early, so be it. Chennai can revert to plan B.
Mustafizur is back to his hunting ground. The slow cutters will come in play on the Chepauk pitch. At 11 wickets and a strike rate of 13 expect him to be in wickets.
4. Players To Watch For LSG
K L Rahul holds the key from LSG to give a good start in Chennai. It gets increasingly difficult for the lower order batters at Chepauk. He needs to have a good game. At 143 strike rate 40 average he has struck some form but he would want to be the glue around which D Kock, Stoinis and Pooran can play cameos.
Mayank Yadav the pacer has been injured for a while and hope he returns back to play in this fixture. He has clearly been the find of the season and if he plays expect him to trouble CSK players. This lad can bowl fast…!!!
Nicky P at 164 strike rate has to come to party. If he gets to bat LSG will expect fireworks from him. He has been hot and cold this year so he would want to have some consistency.
5. Betting Tips:
Run Line is at 177.5 at the time of writing this blog and is touch and go. That is on the higher end of the range so if at all i ll bet i would bet under 177.5. Would rather wait for the game to begin, if they start fast in the power play take unders at the end of power play and if they start slow take overs around 163-165. To me the range will be 161-171.
Match Bet: Chennai start as favorite and at 1.75 and Lucknow are at 2.3. Both teams have had mixed season this year but it is so difficult to beat Chennai at home, so i would not bet against Chennai. Chennai or no bet for me. If Chennai bats first and gets above 180, they win this.
Total Bet: Both teams to score 170+ Runs each is at 1.57 and this to me is a fair bet.