IPL 2020, KKR vs CSK LIVE: KKR have plenty of resources in bowling but Karthik it seems has not been able to manage them well and their match against Delhi Capitals could be a case in point. (BCCI/IPL)IPL 2020, KKR vs CSK Team Predicted Playing 11 for Today Match LIVE Updates: MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) would look to maintain their form against Dinesh Karthik’s Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the clash tonight. The teams will lock horns at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
CSK secured an impressive win against Kings XI Punjab in their previous clash, with opener Shane Watson finally finding some form. KKR, on the other hand, have had a decent outing but would look to improve. Their Caribbean forces, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, are yet to fire big and team would hope for a better show. The team might also consider dropping Narine for this clash and try experiment with young English opener Tom Banton, who is yet to play a single match in this edition of IPL.
Tom Banton was one of the best finds of 2019. His flamboyance and stroke-making abilities have constantly drawn him comparisons to Jos Buttler and Kevin Pietersen. (KKR.in)
Chennai finally have started to come on their own after three losses on the trot and the MS Dhoni-led side would look to make their ascent to top-four from being at the bottom. Not known to tweak his side much, Dhoni persisted with Shane Watson and the Aussie veteran finally came to form with an unbeaten 83. Chasing 179 against Kings XI Punjab, Watson and Faf du Plessis made light work of their bowlers in a record 181-run unbeaten stand to seal the chase. The coming to form of the misfiring top order is what CSK needed to give the impetus to the side as they would certainly look favourites against a struggling KKR.
Kolkata Knight Riders' reliable batting star Nitish Rana still has to show the spark of his bat as the southpaw has scored just 130 runs in four matches played so far in the IPL 2020. The team management would be expecting even more from the talented hitter.
Kolkata Knight Riders fast bowler Ali Khan, who had become the first USA cricketer to be signed by an Indian Premier League franchise, has been ruled out of the tournament due to an injury.
A media advisory from IPL confirmed his injury but did not provide any details.
The two-times winners had signed Khan as a replacement for the injured English seamer Harry Gurney ahead of the tournament.
"Khan became the first USA cricketer to be signed up by an IPL franchise. Unfortunately, Khan has since been injured and will miss the rest of the Dream11 IPL 2020 season," the statement read.
The 29-year-old was also part of title-winning Trinbago Knight Riders squad in the Caribbean Premier League, which was played in August-September. The Pakistan-born American had picked up eight wickets in the tournament.
- PTI
Sunil Narine has looked woefully out of sorts, managing only 27 runs from four matches at 87.09 strike rate. Is it time to rope in BBL sensation Tom Banton in place of the Windies cricketer?
Kolkata Knight Riders fast bowler Ali Khan, who had become the first USA cricketer to be signed by an Indian Premier League franchise, has been ruled out of the tournament due to an injury. A media advisory from IPL confirmed his injury but did not provide any details. The two-times winners had signed Khan as a replacement for the injured English seamer Harry Gurney ahead of the tournament.
"Khan became the first USA cricketer to be signed up by an IPL franchise. Unfortunately, Khan has since been injured and will miss the rest of the Dream11 IPL 2020 season," the statement read. The 29-year-old was also part of title-winning Trinbago Knight Riders squad in the Caribbean Premier League, which was played in August-September. The Pakistan-born American had picked up eight wickets in the tournament.
Facing criticism for a below par show despite having a star-studded line up, skipper Dinesh Karthik needs some quick soul searching to find answers in the clash tonight.
The team acquired England’s World Cup-winning skipper Eoin Morgan but the KKR management, reposed confidence in Karthik and asked him to lead the side.
However, a few of his baffling decisions apart from his own poor run with the bat — 37 runs from four matches — has put the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman in the line of fire.
Promoting himself ahead of the star duo of Morgan and Andre Russell and preferring Sunil Narine in the opening slot over Big Bash sensation Tom Banton — who has been compared with Kevin Pietersen — has put 35-year-old Karthik in the dock.
A former CSK player, S Badrinath weighs his thoughts on the clash tonight.
The two teams have faced each other 20 times so far, with CSK holding a 13-7 head-to-head win/loss record over KKR. Chennai beat Kolkata in both the clashes last edition, and Imran Tahir put up standout performances (2/21 and 4/27) in the two matches.
Sunil Gavaskar was on air when Delhi Capitals off-spinner R Ashwin stopped in his delivery stride on spotting Royal Challengers Bangalore opener Aaron Finch way outside the crease. Though Ashwin didn’t run him out, the seasoned commentator feels that batsmen who try to take unfair advantage should pay the price. Gavaskar calls the spirit of cricket a mythical concept and also explains why while calling Monday’s game, he said “Ashwin had tried to ‘Brown’ Finch”. | READ EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW |
Iconic West Indian cricketer Brian Lara says "great batsman" KL Rahul shouldn't be bothered with wicket-keeping in the Indian team and he should be allowed to concentrate on his batting. Lara also feels that Rishabh Pant has matured in the past year and he should be considered as India's number one wicketkeeper-batsman. Rahul did a great job keeping wickets in the limited overs series against Australia and also during the India's tour of New Zealand earlier this year.
The Indian team also experimented with Rahul's batting position and he had delivered. "Well, first of all I would like to say that KL Rahul should not be bothered with wicket-keeping when it comes to that Indian squad," Lara said on 'Cricket Connected'. "He's such a great batsman that I feel that he should concentrate on that and put in a lot of runs on the board," he added.
KKR at this venue: Played 5, Won 2, Lost 3
CSK at this venue: Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1
There have been some typically huge Andre Russell sixes, but the big-hitting West Indian all-rounder is yet to play that special knock, where he took on the opposition bowlers and what better day than a day when KKR face CSK.
While CSK have Faf du Plessis who is currently occupying the second spot in the list of leading run-getters with 282 runs against his name. Faf du Plessis scored an unbeaten 87 as he and Watson sealed CSK’s 10-wicket win over KXIP. He needs 21 runs to earn the Orange Cap and he will look to score big and earn that coveted Orange Cap.
Although Eoin Morgan is yet to score a fifty in the IPL 2020, England’s World Cup-winning captain is playing his role to perfection. The left-hander will once again be expected to come good with the bat.
On the other hand, Watson got a few starts, he could not score big in the first few games for CSK in the IPL 2020. However, the CSK opener made a sensational return to form against KXIP, hammering unbeaten 83 off 53 balls to halt CSK’s three-match losing streak and powering them to their second win of the season.
The former Australian all-rounder will be eager to have another fine outing with the bat when CSK face KKR.
The MS Dhoni-led unit, on the other hand, will be seeking to continue their winning run. While CSK kicked-off their IPL 2020 season with a win over MI, they lost their next three games – RR, DC and SRH. However, CSK dished out a dominating show with the bat against KXIP, winning the game by 10 wickets to register their second win of the season.
Hello and welcome to another IPL blog for all the updates of Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders match. It's the 21st match of the season. KKR started their campaign with a loss against Mumbai Indians (MI). But they bounced back in style, registering two successive wins, beating Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan Royals (RR). While they lost their fourth game of the season against Delhi Capitals (DC), KKR will take confidence from the spirited performance of Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan and Rahul Tripathi as they take on CSK.