Mohali: CSK will look to continue their winning streak when they lock horns with Kings XI Punjab in the IPL on Sunday. It will be the third game for both teams.
After opening their campaign with a stunning win over MI in the league opener, CSK pulled off yet another thrilling chase to beat KKR.
The likes of Dwayne Bravo and Sam Billings are in red-hot form for the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led team.
CSK have enough depth in their batting line-up with the likes of Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu, Billings and Bravo.
The spin trio of Harbhajan Singh, Jadeja and Imran Tahir can be a potent force as they are complemented by Deepak Chahar, Watson and Shardul Thakur.
On the other hand, KXIP are coming into the match after Friday's loss against RCB.
The KXIP started the season on a resounding note, beating Delhi by six wickets.
Local player KL Rahul, who fashioned the victory with the fastest-ever fifty in IPL, justified why the franchise spent Rs 11 crore for him.
Rahul smashed a 30-ball 47 against RCB and had Punjab not lost wickets in quick succession, they could have notched up a bigger total than the 155 they managed while batting first.
A cause of concern for KXIP is the form of their top batsman Yuvraj Singh, who has made 12 and 4 in the two games while in the bowling department, Mohit Sharma looked off-color against RCB.
Ashwin has been in good form with his bowling and has contributed with the bat as well.
Playing his maiden innings as a captain, Ashwin has also been marshalling his men nicely.
In the batting department, there are high expectations from Aaron Finch, who was unavailable for the opening match but failed with the bat against RCB.
Punjab's bowlers are doing a fine job with 17-year-old spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman surprising the batsmen with his unconventional deliveries. He was even rewarded with the prize wicket of RCB skipper Virat Kohli.
Apart from Ashwin, Mohit Sharma, Mujeeb, Axar Patel and Andrew Tye add depth to Punjab's bowling attack.
Teams (from):
CSK: MS Dhoni (capt), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Faf du Plessis, Harbhajan Singh, Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Kanishk Seth, Lungi Ngidi, Dhruv Shorey, Murali Vijay, Sam Billings, Mark Wood, Kshitiz Sharma, Monu Kumar, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur, N Jagadeesan
KXIP: KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Aaron Finch, Yuvraj Singh, Karun Nair, David Miller, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin (captain), AJ Tye, Mohit Sharma, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Chris Gayle.
(Match starts at 8 pm)
