Preview: IPL 2015 Match 24: Chennai Super Kings Vs Kings XI Punjab

Chennai, April 24: Struggling to be consistent, Kings XI Punjab will have their task cut out when they take on the in-form Chennai Super Kings in an IPL 2015 match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here tomorrow.

IPL Special; Points Table

CSK have lost just one of their five matches so far and are currently second on the table with four wins. Kings XI, on the other hand, have lost three of their five games and are placed third from bottom right now.

It has been smooth sailing so far for Chennai, the two time former champions. The batting has an intimidating look to it and the entire top half has contributed well.

Although New Zealand dasher Brendon McCullum's bat has not produced a big knock in the last couple of matches but he remains a crucial cog in the opening slot.

The opener, who smashed an unbeaten hundred against Sunrisers Hyderabad - seasons first and only century so far, has accumulated 166 runs in 5 games.

Suresh Raina too struck form after a topsy-turvy start and skipper MS Dhoni has also chipped in whenever needed, making batting a massive strength for CSK.

The bowling has also delivered quite well for the team despite not having a star spearhead. Veteran Ashish Nehra, who leads the pace pack, came up with an outstanding effort in the previous match against Royal Challengers Bangalore by chipping off four wickets for a mere 10 runs in his four overs.

Kings XI, in contrast, have struggled for a major part of their campaign so far although their morale would be boosted by tie-breaker win over table-toppers Rajasthan Royals in their last game. Their batting, which has looked wobbly, managed to draw even, chasing 192 runs for victory in the humdinger.

However, a concern which did not subside even after that was Australian swashbuckler Glenn Maxwell's indifferent form.

Squads

Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (captain and wicketkeeper), Ashish Nehra, Baba Aparajith, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith, Francois du Plessis, Ishwar Pandey, Matt Henry, Mithun Manhas, Mohit Sharma, Pawan Negi, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Samuel Badree, Suresh Raina, Ronit More, Michael Hussey, Rahul Sharma, Kyle Abbott, Ankush Bains, Irfan Pathan, Pratyush Singh, Andrew Tye, Eklavya Dwivedi.

Kings XI Punjab: George Bailey (captain), Axar Patel, Anureet Singh, Beuran Hendricks, David Miller, Glenn Maxwell, Gurkeerat Mann Singh, Karanveer Singh, Manan Vohra, Mitchell Johnson, Parvinder Awana, Rishi Dhawan, Sandeep Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Shaun Marsh, Shivam Sharma, Thisara Perera, Virender Sehwag, Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), Murali Vijay, Nikhil Naik, Yogesh Golwalkar.

Match starts 8 PM IST

Also playing tomorrow at 4 PM - MI Vs SRH (Match Preview)

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PTI