CSK vs KKR Preview – Kolkata battle Chennai at their fortress

Just like any other game in the business end of the ongoing IPL 2023, neither Chennai Super Kings nor Kolkata Knight Riders afford to drop any more points when they take on each other at MA Chidambaram Stadium on May 14 in the 61st game of the league.

Notably, the Nitish Rana-led side suffered a humiliating defeat in their last match at the hands of Rajasthan Royals and are currently seventh on the IPL points table, while CSK are at number two, and will hope to win to solidify their place.

Meanwhile, they defeated Delhi Capitals by 27 runs in their last match as Matheesha Pathairana once again played an important part. Batters struggled to get going and that remains to be a concern but overall, MS Dhoni will be happy with where his team is at the moment. Deepak Chahar too has found his momentum and even though Tushar Deshpande has been expensive he is making up for it with wickets.

KKR, meanwhile, have been one of the most unpredictable teams in the ongoing season. Jason Roy has been giving them good starts on a consistent basis but others have blown hot and hot. A lot of their success depends on spinners and middle order batters but none clicked in the last match and thus, the team will have to start afresh against CSK.

Pitch and Conditions

The surface at MA Chidambaram Stadium is getting slower with each passing match. Thus, it will definitely help the spinners and interestingly, both these teams have quality spinners in their ranks. Bowling first will be ideal and anything above 170 will be a good total

Venue details: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

Last T20 match at the venue: CSK – 167/8 (20 overs) DC- 140/8 (20 overs)

Here’s the probable playing XI for Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders –

Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni doesn’t like to change the winning combination and no changes are expected as such.

Kolkata Knight Riders: The Knight Riders look like have finally found their tight balance and are expected to go unchanged.