MS Dhoni
The 49th match of the IPL 2020 will witness Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders lock horns at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
No one would've imagined the fate of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the on-going IPL edition. Failing to live up to expectations, the MS Dhoni-led side, for the first time in their illustrious IPL voyage, failed to make it to playoffs this season.
The journey this year has been a forgetful one for the Yellow Army. Regardless of their woeful show, CSK supporters have stuck to them in trying times. Dhoni's troops will aim to finish their season on a positive note by winning their remaining two fixtures. They'll be confident of putting up a dominant show on the back of their recent victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Kolkata Knight Righters, on the other hand, are in a tussle to finish in the top-four. They've had a roller-coaster ride this year, with many players failing to deliver consistent performances. The Eoin Morgan-led side has registered three defeats in their last five matches, complicating their way to playoffs.
With two games left to play, they could qualify with one victory too. However, with other teams joining the race, the men in purple and gold will also have to keep a check on the Net Run Rate too. In their previous game against Kings XI Punjab, the Kolkata side suffered a thumping eight-wicket defeat while failing to scalp wickets at regular intervals.
As both the sides meet, let's take a look at some of the key stats:
Head-to-head: In the 24 games played between both the sides, CSK have had an upper hand. The three-time champions head the rivalry with a 14-9 win-loss record against the Knight Riders. However, considering their lacklustre performance in this season, KKR might emerge as the winners. Moreover, CSK have never managed to defeat KKR outside India.
Crucial stats:
- CSK skipper MS Dhoni has aggregated 481 runs while leading his side against KKR. If he gets an opportunity to come in early, Dhoni will be eyeing to cruise past the 500-run mark.
- All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has scalped 14 wickets in CSK-KKR encounters. Interestingly, Dhoni didn't make him bowl in the past encounter between both the sides.
- All eyes will be on KKR's 'mystery spinner' Varun Chakravarthy. In 11 games, he has scalped 13 wickets including figures of 5/20 against Delhi Capitals.
- In the last KKR-CSK encounter, Rahul Tripathi had emerged as the hero by slamming 81 off just 51 deliveries.
- The most impressive performer for CSK this season, Sam Curran, has 173 runs at an average and strike-rate of 21.62 and 136.22 respectively. He also has 13 scalps under his belt.
- Faf du Plessis, flaunting consistency this year, has scored 401 runs in 12 games, making him one of the favourites to smash runs against KKR.
- Struggling to leave an impact this season, KKR all-rounder Sunil Narine has 15 wickets to his name while facing CSK.
