CSK vs KKR Playing 11 IPL: MS Dhoni and Chepauk gear up for Russell-mania challenge

Defending Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have the big task of containing Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) explosive batsman Andre Russell at hand as the two sides lock horns at the MA Chidambaram stadium on Tuesday. The ‘Russell factor’ has played a big role in KKR’s journey in the season so far, while Chennai have had different players stepping up on different occasions.

Presently, after 5 games each, the top two sides are only separated by Net Run Rate and have many star players at their disposal. But the Chepauk stadium is unlikely to see a high-scoring encounter, with spinners from both teams set to play a crucial role. Harbhajan Singh and Imran Tahir would be tasked with the job of containing KKR batsmen on a surface that is expected to aid the spinners once again.

Faf du Plessis is likely to continue his partnership with Shane Watson at the top, while Ambati Rayudu drops down in the middle-order. Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine would look to provide a good start at a venue where dew factor will play a big role.

opposition’s most dangerous batsmen. Be it Virat Kohli of Royal Challengers Bangalore or Chris Gayle of Kings XI Punjab, Bhajji has been among wickets and done incredibly well, no matter at which phase he has been asked to bowl. It could be the same case for him against KKR on Tuesday.

Andre Russell: The big man hardly needs any introduction. While planning against the opposition is a routine task for teams, when IPL sides come up against KKR, they are supposed to specifically focus on Russell. Having guided the Kight Riders to victories single-handedly so far this season, Russell would look to create a big impact against CSK too.

Harry Gurney: The English cricketer came into the IPL looking to showcase the world why he is considered as a fine death bowler. On his debut against Rajasthan Royals, the 32-year-old bagged a spell of 2/25 from his 4 overs, including the wicket of Steve Smith. He would be key to KKR’s hopes against CSK.

MS Dhoni: While the top-order hasn’t been able to grind through and get results for the team at Chepauk, Dhoni has been phenomenal at home with the bat. While his captaincy remains key in strategizing the gameplay against the opposition, his batting has been superlative too. Dhoni has scored 156 runs so far in 5 matches and has only been dismissed three times so far. Against Kolkata, the Chennai skipper has a big task at hand.

CSK Likely Playing XI: Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (c, wk), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Scott Kuggeleijn, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir

KKR Likely Playing XI: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (c, wk), Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Harry Gurney, Prasidh Krishna