IPL 2021: Match 8 PBKS vs CSK Preview, Playing XI, Live Streaming Details & Updates

Having laid a foundation, Punjab Kings’ bid will be about building better and stronger in a battle of ‘Kings’.

Published - 15 Apr 2021, 16:33 IST | Updated - 15 Apr 2021, 16:33 IST

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This has been a champion team. One with a leader most accomplished in the history of the game. But empires fall, leader ages, and glory vanishes. Yet for what one knows about Mahendra Singh Dhoni, he can never be written off.

He might be past his prime but he still is a hawk of the game. Under him, every team, without exception, has excelled. Be it the blue for India, or the yellow for CSK, and few can dare to think of getting close to his legacy, let alone surmount it.

Waning form in cricket is like death in life. It arrives regardless of who you are, what you’ve been. Tendulkar fell for ducks, Kohli’s enduring a century drought, and Bradman could not score 4 in his last game. None of this makes either of them lesser legends of the game. But the sights are odd, nonetheless.

So is the sight of CSK – ever so consistent; one always found roaring at the top of the table – languishing at the bottom. Little of this can fluster the finest cricketing brain of that man, but the same brain that designed wins aplenty needs to get back to doing that.

CSK was mauled by the might of a confidence-exuding youngster, Prithvi Shaw, in the last game, who wreaked havoc in tandem with a not-so-young star, Shikhar Dhawan. Despite the jangling loss, takeaways were many for a side getting older by each moment.

A depressingly familiar start to their innings that brought the memories of 2020 back (CSK was reduced to 7/2) was evaded by their mainstay, Suresh Raina – missing in the last season. To go by the impression of the first game, at least the problem of slow starts and lack of intent in the middle overs seems solved for CSK post his comeback.

If Ruturaj Gaikwad can replicate last year’s spark and Moeen Ali can float around in the order to give correct acceleration alongside an able middle-order, the batting base for the Super Kings will be covered. The problem, however, in their tournament opener was with bowlers, who were unruly enough to gift runs to the opposition, letting them dominate convincingly. That needs an urgent change should CSK eye to open their account tomorrow. (16th April 2021).

Against them are the mavericks, Punjab Kings, whose fortunes seem to have changed with the change in name. Why you’d ask? They won exactly that kind of a game they had seemingly become habitual of losing in 2020. At the heart of Punjab’s problem last year, amongst other things, was the sheer inability to close encounters. They lost games from unbelievable situations: failing to defend 223 at Sharjah against the Royals, a mess up while needing one from three in a chase of 157 against the Capitals, are only a few examples.

It took a redemption of the ages for them to put themselves back in contention, only to fall in the end. That such fate did not follow them in their 2021 opener was thanks to many things. Two uncapped underdogs for starters. In an order boasting Gayle, Pooran, and Mayank Agarwal, it was Deepak Hooda’s show-stopping 64 that stole the limelight, while the Kings, who broke the bank to acquire death-bowling solutions in Riley Meredith and Jhye Richardson, it was Arshdeep Singh who saved them from repeating Sharjah.

In another positive, KL Rahul, it seemed, picked up from where he had left the 670-run season, and even as Gayle did not fire as Gayle does, his 40 showed that there is no rust as such. Having laid a foundation, Punjab Kings’ bid will be about building better and stronger in a battle of ‘Kings’.

Pitch and conditions

Mumbai has been the batsmen’s den so far. Short boundaries, sublime track. What else can the batters ask for? The average score in the two games has been 204, with Chennai posting 188, which DC chased with seven wickets and eight balls to spare, while Rajasthan fell short by a mere four runs in a 222-run chase against Punjab. Expect nothing but runs.

Playing Combinations for PBKS vs CSK

Punjab Kings

After a spectacular game, there remains no reason for Punjab to make any changes in a winning combination.

Predicted XI: Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (C & WK), Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Shahrukh Khan, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, Murugan Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami

Chennai Super Kings

The Super Kings are not known to meddle too much with their combination. Expect them to go unchanged as well.

Predicted XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf Du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar