After stumbling against Mumbai Indians, the MS Dhoni-brigade was back on track with a convincing win against Kings XI Punjab. The team received a jolt in the form of an injured Dwayne Bravo, but the replacements in Faf du Plessis and Scott Kuggeleijn were impressive in their first match.

Coach Stephen Fleming wants to side to identify the small flaws and then aim to improve them as the tournament progresses and now when they face an in-form Kolkata Knight Riders, they will have to make as few mistakes as possible.

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Never the one to make changes just for the sake of it, MS Dhoni could stick with the same squad. Well, he could also decide bench Ambati Rayudu and give the nod to Dhruv Shorey. Rayudu, after a bumper 2018 season, has looked woefully out of form this season. A few matches off could help him sharpen his game.

Also, Deepak Chahar looked good in the death overs against Kings XI Punjab and this gives another option for the skipper. Weather will not be a hindrance, but dew will play a big factor as the skies will be clear right through. This could mean Harbhajan Singh and Imran Tahir hold the key, especially if CSK bowl second.

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“Our balance has been affected because of the injury to Bravo so our options are a little bit limited. Most teams bat down to seven. KKR have batted second time the most, so they’ve chased. What is a good score here? I don’t know. The dew factor caught us by surprise. It’s about reading conditions, assessing and then committing to that. We’ll just do what we normally do. KKR are a good side. It’s not going to change much to what we usually do,” Fleming said before the match.

This is how we believe CSK could line up for this mouth-watering clash with Kolkata Knight Riders:

Predicted XI: Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, Dhruv Shorey, MS Dhoni (c, wk), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Scott Kuggeleijn, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir.

First Published: Apr 09, 2019 10:56 IST