The 21st match of the IPL 2020 will see Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) taking on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a mouth-watering clash at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on October 7, 2020.
Kolkata Knight Riders, apart from their opening game against Mumbai Indians, have looked pretty decent in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League. In their last game, they were in with a decent chance of chasing 229 runs against the Delhi Capitals, though they lost the match by 18 runs in Sharjah. Dinesh Karthik and co. are now placed fourth in the points table.
CSK, on the other hand, must be brimming with confidence after decimating the Kings XI Punjab by 10 wickets in Dubai. However, MS Dhoni’s men still have a lot of work to do as they are placed sixth in the points table.
Match Details
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings, Match 21
07th October, 07:30 PM IST.
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Best economical pick – Rahul Tripathi
The Maharashtra opener got the place in the playing XI in the last match against Delhi Capitals. Although he is an opener, he came to bat at no. 8 position when the asking rate was over 20. He scored 36 off 16 balls, striking three fours and three sixes. If he had been sent with Shubman Gill as an opening partner, maybe the results would have been different. So, against CSK, KKR might not make that mistake and send him to open with Shubman at the start.
Captain- Faf du Plessis
Faf has delivered in every match of CSK this season. He has taken over the role of Suresh Raina to be the run machine as the former Indian cricketer backed out of IPL 2020. In five matches, the attacking Proteas batsman has amassed 282 runs, including three half-centuries, at the strike rate of 150.00.
Vice-captain -Andre Russell
The West Indian all-rounder hasn’t yet fired in the ongoing IPL 2020, scoring only 48 runs at an average of 16. But he has excellent numbers against the Chennai Super Kings.
In seven innings, he has 224 runs at an average and strike-rate of 56 and 164.71 respectively. He also has three fifties with a top score of 88* at the Chepauk in 2018. With the ball in hand, Dre-Russ has five wickets at an economy rate of 8.20.
Smart pick – MS Dhoni
The CSK captain scored an unbeaten 47 against the SRH, though it came in a losing cause. He batted at no.5 and did a reasonable job. He shouldn’t demote himself for the next game as he has excellent numbers against the KKR. In 20 innings, he has 471 runs at an average and strike-rate of 52.33 and 134.57 respectively. KKR has to send him back to the pavilion early, otherwise, he can do some pretty serious damage to their bowling.
Cautious Pick – Kedar Jadhav
Even though Kedar Jadhav is yet to perform in the capacity that CSK might have wanted him to, the franchise has backed him continuously and has given him a spot in the playing XI. Moreover, he is only being used as a batsman, as he has now bowled so far in the tournament and is not so great in the field either.
My Fantasy XI:
Faf du Plessis (captain), Andre Russell (Vice-Captain), Rahul Tripathi, MS Dhoni, Eoin Morgan, Deepak Chahar, Pat Cummins, Varun Chakravarthy, Nitish Rana, Ambati Rayudu, Shubman Gill
