IPL 2022: Match 38- Predicted Chennai Super Kings Playing XI vs Punjab Kings

The Chennai Super Kings will be locking horns with Punjab Kings in Match 38 of IPL 2022 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 25. CSK will be oozing with confidence heading into this contest having registered a thrilling last-ball victory against arch-rivals Mumbai Indians in the last game. At the same time, they will also be eager to avenge their reverse fixture loss against PBKS where they had gone down by a huge margin of 54 runs.

While the defending champions did manage a hard-fought thrilling win against MI in the last match despite suffering a top-order collapse, they would not be eager to make any chopping and changes to their side and instead would be sticking to the same winning combination that was helpful in adding two more precious points to their tally.

Here’s a Look at Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Predicted XI against Punjab Kings (PBKS)

Openers: Ruturaj Gaikwad and Robin Uthappa

CSK’s batting sensation Ruturaj Gaikwad roared back to form against Gujarat Titans with a 48-ball 73 but, was dismissed for a golden duck against Mumbai in the next game. The Maharashtra batter would now be hoping to make amends when he takes on Punjab’s lethal bowling attack.

Robin Uthappa’s performances have blown hot and cold throughout the tournament. The veteran batter has so far amassed 227 runs from seven matches averaging 32.43 and a strike rate of 147.40 including two half-centuries with his highest score being 88 against his former franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Middle-Order: Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (wk) and Dwaine Pretorius

All eyes will be on CSK’s middle-order with a few of their batters having managed to roar back to form. Ambati Rayudu scored a 35-ball 40 just when the title-holders had lost early wickets during their chase against Mumbai. Shivam Dube has been one of Chennai’s consistent batting performers this season with 239 runs from seven outings.

Dwaine Pretorius scored a vital 22 runs from 14 deliveries in the last game against MI and he would be looking to showcase a better performance in the next match with some precious runs in the middle-order. The legendary MS Dhoni proved that he is still capable of playing the finisher’s role to perfection with an unbeaten 13-ball 28 as he clobbered Jaydev Unadkat for six and two fours to register a thrilling win for the reigning champions.

All-Rounders: Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo

The new CSK skipper Ravindra Jadeja’s performance has not been up to the mark so far in the competition. In the seven matches, the southpaw has only managed 91 runs with his highest score being an unbeaten 26. The Gujarat all-rounder has also not impressed much with the ball in hand either having registered five scalps to his name at an economy rate of 8.13.

Dwayne Bravo has been the most consistent performer for the Chennai Super Kings with the ball in hand so far. He is fourth on the Purple Cap list with 12 wickets from seven outings averaging 18.08 and an economy rate of 8.45. Meanwhile, the Caribbean star still has a lot of work to do on his batting having scored 10 runs so far and three not-outs.

Bowlers: Mitchell Santner, Maheesh Theekshana, and Mukesh Choudhary

CSK bowlers worked in tandem to restrict Mumbai Indians to a manageable total of 155/7. New Zealand left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner might have only registered a solitary scalp but he was very economical having conceded just 16 runs from three overs at an economy rate of 5.3.  Maheesh Theekshana has been really promising in his maiden IPL season. The Sri Lankan bowler has picked up seven wickets in the four games that he has got to play.

Mukesh Choudhary broke MI’s backbone in the last match, especially the toe-crushing yorker that floored opener Ishan Kishan in the very first over for a golden duck. He finished with figures of 3/19 from his three overs. The emerging pacer would once again be hoping to continue his excellent run when he bowls to Punjab’s famed batting line-up.

Here’s the Predicted XI of Chennai Super Kings:

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Dwaine Pretorius, Dwayne Bravo, Mitchell Santner, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary