FANTASY
Follow UsIt has been one of the most one-sided rivalries in the history of the Indian Premier League, with Chennai Super Kings having a clear wood over Kolkata Knight Riders. With 18 wins from 27 games, CSK know how to get the better of the Kolkata-based side, and the recent four wins in the last five games further reaffirmed the fact that the 2012 and 2014 champions, KKR, have a long way to go.
HEAD TO HEAD
Overall 27 | CSK - 18 Wins | KKR - 9 Wins
Last five games | CSK - 4 Wins | KKR - 1 Win
Team Combination and Ground Details
Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium is a comparatively batting-friendly venue, with the average first innings score being 163. In the last three years, the same characteristic has pretty much been maintained, with the score rising to 164. However, the venue’s average first innings winning score hovers around 178, which means a team can’t just sit tight initially.
Pacers have bowled 65.8% of the deliveries and have managed 970 wickets out of the 1405 wickets that fell. That is a staggering 69.0% dominance. With 3.8 wickets per innings, pacers have accentuated the performance on their own but don’t get fooled - it is still a batter’s paradise.
Suggested Team
The team we've picked has a good mix of world-class batters and bowlers. But remember, while you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. Then, based on your preferences, the platform will guide you through creating the ideal fantasy XI.
Captain
Ruturaj Gaikwad owned the IPL 2021 stage with a memorable season and can carry his form to 2022. He has always been at his best when he faced KKR and has crossed the 30+ mark on all 4 occasions against them in IPL. His last four innings against the two-time champions read - 32, 40, 64, and 72, something that makes him such a valuable proposition. Hence don’t be surprised if he takes the game by its horns once again.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts Gaikwad to score 21-31 runs
X-Factors
CSK’s newly-appointed skipper Ravindra Jadeja has a great record against KKR as he averages 67 with an SR of 209 since IPL 2018 against them. KKR are the only opposition against which Jadeja has had a 200+ SR since IPL 2018 and that makes you aware of his qualities. In his last five knocks against KKR, he has changed the game in a matter of seconds and that put him at the highest of the points as far as CSK’s success is concerned.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts Jadeja to score 15-23 runs and pick 2-3 wickets
IPL 2021 was one of Shreyas Iyer’s worst seasons with the bat in terms of scoring rate but he has been one of the best when it comes to consistency, averaging more than 30 in 6 of the 7 IPL seasons he has featured in. His graph in T20Is has been on the incline and 2022 has been his best year with the bat. His SR has increased to 172 in T20Is this year along with peak consistency in terms of run-scoring and it would be foolish not to bet on him.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts Shreyas Iyer to score 50-76 runs
In IPL 2018, KKR played their first away game against CSK and Russell hit his career-best score of 88* in that game. Russell will take on his favourite opposition CSK and this would be his best chance to start the season on a positive note. 4 of Russell’s 8 fifties in IPL have come against CSK. His average of 42.9 against CSK is only bettered against RCB in the history of the IPL and that makes it clear why Russell is such an enticing prospect as far as our fantasy team is concerned.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts Russell to score 15-23 runs and pick 2-3 wickets
Here are top-10 Criclytics Predictions
