FANTASY PREVIEW
Follow UsTwo sides desperate for a win in order to boost their chances of making it to the playoffs, Punjab Kings and Chennai Super Kings will take each other on at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday. Punjab and Mumbai are placed 8th and 9th on the points table respectively, but it will be the Super Kings who will enter the contest with momentum, having stunningly downed Mumbai in a thriller in their previous encounter. Punjab will enter Monday’s contest having lost each of their last two encounters.
Ground Details
Punjab’s clash with Chennai on Monday will be the ninth match played at the Wankhede Stadium this season. What’s been interesting to note is that each of the last four games played at the venue have been won by the team batting first. Sunday’s clash between Lucknow and Mumbai, that was played at Wankhede, also witnessed the team batting first comfortably register victory.
Among the four venues in IPL 2022, Wankhede’s avg first batting score of 167 is the lowest, but, of late, the ground has been witness to some high-scoring games. Friday’s clash between Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals, for instance, witnessed a total of 429 runs being scored in the match.
As a side note, the last two matches at the venue have also witnessed an opener score a ton.
On the bowling front, it has behaved similarly to all the other venues, assisting seamers. 67.1% of the wickets at Wankhede have been taken by the quicker bowlers. That being said, it’s the spinners who have been economical. The spinners have maintained an ER of 7.6 compared to the pacers’ 8.8 at the venue.
Expect a wicket that offers something to everyone.
Team selection
Captain selection
He might have missed out against Delhi, but Liam Livingstone has been in scary-good form in IPL 2022. With 226 runs he’s Punjab’s highest run-getter, but those runs have come at a ridiculous SR of 182.25. What makes him a dream fantasy player is also the fact that he can bowl. In the last fixture against CSK, Livingstone struck a fifty and also finished with 2/25. It’s a no-brainer to back the Englishman to come good.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Livingstone to score 21-31 runs and take 0-1 wkts vs CSK
X-factors
Dwayne Bravo might be 38, but what’s not stopping is the rate at which he’s picking wickets. Bravo is once again in contention for the purple cap, currently 4th in the list with 12 wickets, and he will enter the PBKS clash having picked 5 wickets across his last 2 games. Against a PBKS line-up that looks to go hard, Bravo might be the ideal individual for CSK to lay faith on.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Bravo to take 1-2 wickets against PBKS
Punjab’s bowling is not the strongest, but one player that has been a genuine standout is Rahul Chahar. With 10 wickets to his name, the leggie is the highest run-getter for Punjab this season, and he’s delivered for the side in nearly every game. In the reverse fixture against CSK, Chahar took 3/25 to cripple the Super Kings. He is someone who can definitely be relied on.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Chahar to take 1-2 wickets on Monday
Few expected Maheesh Theekshana to get a game for CSK this season, but the mystery spinner has been a revelation since coming into the side. He’s taken 7 wickets, but it’s his economy that stands out: an ER of 7.68. Quite the achievement considering he bowls predominantly in the powerplay. Once again, against a potent batting line-up like PBKS, the mystery spin of Theekshana could be the clincher.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Theekshana to take 1-2 wickets
Probable XIs
CSK: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Dwaine Pretorius, Dwayne Bravo, Mitchell Santner, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary
PBKS: Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow / Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora, Arshdeep Singh
