IPL 2018, Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Match Prediction
After a winning start for the Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders, they will take on each other in the fifth match of the eleventh edition of the Indian Premier League.
CSK, who came back after a two-year gap, snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the first match of the tournament against the Mumbai Indians. Chasing 166 for victory, Dwayne Bravo played a magnificent knock of 68 in just 30 deliveries to take them close to victory.
With 7 runs required off the final over, Kedar Jadhav, who was injured and who could barely walk, finished off the game in style with a six and a four off Mustafizur Rahman. He had initially walked off the field when he was batting but came back to the crease when his team had lost nine wickets. Unfortunately, he has been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament.
Bravo, who performed exceptionally well with the ball too, was named the man of the match.
On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders, who were written off prior to the tournament pulled off a comfortable victory against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their first match of the tournament which was held at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Chasing 177 for victory, Sunil Narine scored a half-century in just 19 deliveries to take the game away from RCB in the first half of the chase itself. The other batsmen chipped in as well and RCB were never able to get back into the game.
With both the teams having won their first match, this will be quite an interesting and exciting encounter, with the winner moving to the top of the table.
The two teams have faced each other on 17 occasions in the IPL. CSK have an upper hand with 10 wins while KKR have 6. One game was washed out.
Let's take a look at how the match could turn out:
If CSK bat first:
Predicted score: 160-170
The pitch at the M Chidambaram Stadium is quite slow and sluggish and assists the spinners. This would be perfect for CSK, who have quality spinners in their side along with someone like Dwayne Bravo. They do not have too many big hitters on their side, with a lot of dependence on Suresh Raina at the top of the order.
Murali Vijay is fit and will probably return to the playing XI and bat at the top of the order. MS Dhoni, who failed to perform in the previous match will look to get going in front of the home crowd. We could expect CSK to score about 160-170 runs in the first innings, which could probably be enough.
If KKR bat first:
Predicted score: 160-170
The side from Kolkata probably have the most explosive opening batsmen with Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine. However, the West Indian might find it hard to get going given the nature of the pitch in Chennai, hence, he might get out early. Lynn will look to get going after failing to perform in the first match and if he gets going, he could take the game away from Chennai. However, with Chennai's bowling line-up, we can expect KKR to score around 160-170 as well.
Final prediction:
Chennai Super Kings will most likely come out on top in this encounter and move to the top of the table. Given the nature of the pitch and the home advantage, Chennai's bowling will probably be the difference between the two sides.