CSK vs PBKS: Ruturaj Gaikwad drops two premium pacers due to health concerns against unchanged Punjab Kings; check playing XIs

Sam Curran's Punjab Kings won the toss and elected to bowl first against Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Chennai Super Kings in match 49 of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, on May 1 (Wednesday). The game is crucial for CSK in order to get to the third or second spot and PBKS also need to win this game to keep their playoff hopes alive as they are currently stuck at the number 8 spot. CSK made two changes to their side as Matheesha Pathirana missed out due to a niggle and Tushar Deshpande is unwell. Richard Gleeson will be making his IPL debut today.

Head-to-Head

Both teams have faced each other 28 times in IPL history out of which Chennai have won 15 games and Punjba have been victorious 13 times. PBKS is also the second most successful team against CSK in Chennai with three wins at Chepauk.

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Captains at Toss

“We'll bowl first. Looks like a good surface, new wicket and we're excited after that last match. An amazing stadium and an amazing crowd, we'll have to start well and take early wickets. We'll take the confidence from that chase of 261. It's just about fight and determination, they're a good team, but we need to be brave. Same team for us,” said Sam Curran after winning the toss.

“We would have fielded first, but we weren't exactly sure. Always tough defending here with a lot of dew, but the fact that we won by 78 runs shows a lot about the team, but we'll be missing out Pathirana and Tushar Deshpande today. We'll have to get there early and make a good score. Every game is important. Pathirana has a slight niggle, Deshpande isn't well, so we've Shardul and Richard Gleeson makes his debut,” said Ruturaj Gaikwad.

CSK vs PBKS Playing XIs

Chennai Super Kings: Ajinkya Rahane, Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Daryl Mitchell, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w), Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Richard Gleeson, Mustafizur Rahman

Impact Subs: Sameer Rizvi, Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh, Shaik Rasheed, Prashant Solank

Punjab Kings: Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran(c), Rilee Rossouw, Shashank Singh, Jitesh Sharma(w), Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

Impact Subs: Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, Rishi Dhawan, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Harpreet Singh Bhatia
 

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