Spin spinners are anticipated to play a significant part in the strategy of the host team, Chennai Super Kings, in the IPL encounter against Punjab Kings on Sunday.
Both sides enter the game having suffered losses in their previous games. CSK lost against Rajasthan Royals by 32 runs, while PBKS lost to Lucknow Super Giants by 56 runs.
However, CSK will be relieved to be back in familiar surroundings where spin is king and their cunning captain M S Dhoni will try to suffocate the PBKS batters.
In Jaipur, a high-flying CSK was ambushed as the batters fell short of the required 203 runs to defeat the Royals.
The CSK batting lineup, which has proven effective, struggled against RR. Despite being in excellent form, opener Devon Conway struggled.
In addition to Conway, CSK's notable hitters have included opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, and Shivam Dube, who has shown his ability to score quickly.
The CSK think-tank may be concerned about Ravindra Jadeja's lack of runs, but the all-rounder more than makes up for it with his excellent bowling and fielding.
The fans would be ecstatic if the talismanic captain faced even a few deliveries since Dhoni seemed to be on a farewell run.
When the Royals went on the offensive, Dhoni turned to his spinners, and Maheesh Theekshana and Ravindra Jadeja were able to stop the bleeding right away.
The captain will once again depend on his spinners to turn the ball and confuse the opponents come Sunday. The three-pronged spin onslaught by CSK's Jadeja, Theekshana, and Moeen Ali is expected to continue.
While young Aksah Singh and Matheesha Pathirana will try to put on a better performance, Tushar Deshpande, who has 14 wickets at an economy rate of 12.57, has stepped up to fill in for the injured Deepak Chahar in the pace department.
Ben Stokes, the Test captain of England, is likely to be benched once again since CSK doesn't make many lineup changes. Stokes has recovered from the injury that caused him to miss several games.
While Punjab Kings have struggled with consistency, the team's performance on Friday was not helped by the team's captain Shikhar Dhawan's return.
The PBKS batsmen made good progress towards a challenging aim while trying to achieve 200 runs, but they were unable to lead the team over the finish line. Against the spin-heavy CSK, they will have their work cut out for them.
Dhawan, Prabhsimran Singh, and Atharva Taide make up the top order, which has to get going since Liam Livingstone is yet to find his footing and collect a significant score.
Sam Curran was instrumental in the team's victory against the Mumbai Indians, and his contributions with the bat and the ball are crucial.
Pacers Arshdeep Singh and Kagiso Rabada will need to immediately rebound after being thoroughly beaten by LSG batsmen.
On a Chennai track that is typically sluggish and low, leg-spinner Rahul Chahar's stint in the middle overs would be essential.
groups (from)
Ahay Mandal, Nishant Sindhu, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Mitchell Santner, Subharnshu Senapati, Simarjeet Singh, Matheesa Pathirana, Mahesh Theekshana, Bhagath Verma, Prashant Solanki, Shaikh Rasheed, and Tushar Deshpande are the members of the Chennai Super Kings. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the captain and wicketkeeper.
Shikhar Dhawan (captain), Baltej Singh, Rahul Chahar, Nathan Ellis, Gurnoor Brar, Harpreet Brar, Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, Mohit Rathee, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, M Shahrukh Khan, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shivam Singh, Matthew Short, Sikandar Raza, and Atharva Taide are the other members of the Punjab Kings.
(Match kicks off at 3.30 PM).
