Pune, Apr 16 (IANS): Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will hope to carry the spark, which saw them defeat the in-form Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) after a string of four losses, when they take on Gujarat Titans at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Sunday.
This will be the first game for CSK at this venue and it remains to be seen how the likes of Shivam Dube and Robin Uthappa are able to recreate the magic once again. CSK had amassed a mammoth 216/4, thanks to Dube's unbeaten 95 (46 balls) and Uthappa's 88 (50 balls) as the four-time IPL champions recorded their first win of the season, by 23 runs on April 12.
All-rounder Dube has scored the most runs for CSK so far this season with 207 runs from five games, while Dwayne Bravo has picked up the most wickets, bagging seven to his name. And if a similar partnership between Dube and Uthappa (they had a 165-run stand in the previous game) blossoms again, it could set CSK on the path of another victory.
Besides, the spin duo of Maheesh Theekshana and Ravindra Jadeja, who had figures of 4/33 and 3/39 against RCB in the 23-run victory, will pose a tough challenge to the Titans, who are leading the points table after four wins from five games.
The MCA pitch has seen an almost even contest between the teams batting first and second. The team batting first has taken three wins while the team chasing has been successful on two occasions. And, with the average first innings score at MCA stadium so far in the tournament around 178, it could be another high-scoring match.
Squads:
Chennai Super Kings: Ravindra Jadeja (c), Adam Milne, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (wk), Chris Jordan, Subhranshu Senapati, Dwaine Pretorius, Mukesh Choudhary, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Dwayne Bravo, Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mitchell Santner, Hari Nishanth, N Jagadeesan, Prashant Solanki, KM Asif, Simarjeet Singh, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Maheesh Theekshana, Bhagath Varma
Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya (c), Rashid Khan, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Shami, Jason Roy, Lockie Ferguson, Abhinav Sadarangani, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmed, Sai Kishore, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Dominic Drakes, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, Pradeep Sangwan, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Varun Aaron, B Sai Sudharshan