IPL 2024: Predicting 3 players who could pick up the most wickets in today's CSK vs KKR match
It's rivalry season in IPL 2024 and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) own an underrated chapter in it. The matches between the two teams are hardly about personality clashes or on-field drama but more like games of chess with the two champion sides trying to outsmart each other.
CSK went against the odds to defeat a high-flying KKR side in the IPL 2021 final in Dubai. The Men in Purple and Gold repaid a fraction of that burden by becoming one of the few teams to snatch a massive win in Chepauk last season.
Both these matches, like most tactical clashes, required extraordinary individual skills and a lot of teamwork from the winner's bowling groups. And that's again likely to be the case on Monday when KKR visit Chepauk with three wins in three games behind them to attempt ending another good home run for CSK.
Here, we have tried to predict three bowlers who can shine the brightest in the match:
#3 Mitchell Starc
KKR's most expensive signing Mitchell Starc finally came to his own against DC in Vizag, taking two wickets for 25 runs in his three overs. The Australian left-arm quick has always been a confident bowler and that'd have given him a big boost.
Chennai's Chepauk has offered the most help to pacers in IPL 2024 in a long time and Starc would enjoy that too. CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad struggles against left-arm pace and the hosts' batting order is in disarray after the past two games.
CSK would want to avoid giving KKR too much help for their spin attack, and thus opening up opportunities for Starc to make a mark. He'll also have a role to play against the likes of Shivam Dube and Sameer Rizvi, who are excellent against spin but struggle against hard lengths at pace targeting their bodies.
#2 Sunil Narine
The biggest reason behind KKR's unbeaten run in IPL 2024 is Sunil Narine's form. So far, the two-time champions have been able to find the delicate balance of not being over-reliant on the all-rounder and still getting the best out of him.
His batting has been creating waves and in bowling, the closest to his vintage best in almost five years. Narine has three wickets in three games with an economy rate of just 7.33. And Chepauk has been one of his favorite IPL destinations over the years - seven wickets in six games at an average of 21.71.
KKR uses Narine in a way to leave no option for the opponent but going after him and given the streak of left-handers in the CSK lineup, the tweaker won't mind that.
#1 Mustafizur Rahman
CSK wouldn't have hoped for a bigger boost than Mustafizur Rahman's return to the squad. He missed the previous game against SunRisers Hyderabad due to visa issues for his 2024 T20 World Cup trip, but remained joint-second-best in the IPL 2024 Purple Cap race with seven wickets in three games at 15.14.
Six of his wickets came at Chepauk in CSK's first two matches against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Titans. The wicket and ground dimensions seem to suit his usage of seam movement, cutters and angles more than others and KKR haven't yet come across a bowler with as much variety in IPL 2024.
It would be a brilliant battle all the way from top to lower orders and, given the form he's in, Mustafizur is likely to at least come out with a few wickets.