Chennai Super Kings will look to rebound from their 8-wicket loss to Rajasthan Royals when they face Punjab Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday.
Blighted by injuries to key players like MS Dhoni and Dewlad Brevis, a lustless Chennai were bowled out on 127. Rajasthan's run-chase was powered by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's impressive knock of 52 in 17 balls as the 2008 champions reached home in just 12.1 overs. Meanwhile, Punjab had a contrasting start to their campaign as they beat Gujarat Titans by 3 wickets at home. Batting first, Gujarat were restricted to 162/6 in 20 overs before newcomer Cooper Connolly won the Punjab hearts with an unbeaten innings of 72 in 44 deliveries.
The heavy defeat against RR has seen CSK sink to the bottom of the IPL points table with a net run rate of -4.171. While PBKS are fifth with two points and a net run rate of 0.509. CSK will not only have to beat Punjab to get their first points of the new season but ensure that they secure a comprehensive win to improve their net run rate.
CSK have work to do in their batting, bowling and fielding as they weren't impressive in any of these departments in their match against RR. Although, the team will feel comfort that they are playing Chepauk tonight. Punjab on the other hand are looking like a team to beat and the Shreyas Iyer-led side have all their bases covered.
CSK v PBKS IPL 2026: Date, Time and Venue
The match between CSK and PBKS will be played on Friday. The match starts at 7.30 pm IST.
CSK v PBKS Head to Head
Matches Played: 32
CSK wins: 16
PBKS wins: 16
CSK v PBKS Possible XI
Chennai Super Kings: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Ayush Mhatre, Matt Short, Shivam Dube, Sarfaraz Khan, Kartik Sharma, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmed, Matt Henry, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed
Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (capt), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
Players to watch
Sanju Samson (CSK)
Sanju Samon's much-awaited debut the iconic yellow jersey was a forgettable one as he got out in single digits. But in a highly inexperienced squad, Samson has the responsibility to do the bulk of the scoring and also be the senior figure to steer the team through during tough situations. Samson had a memorable T20 World Cup where he was the Player of the Tournament for accumulated 321 runs. If he gets going then he will ease a lot of pressure from the rest of Chennai batters.
Cooper Connolly (PBKS)
Cooper Connolly reminded the world why he is one of the brightest young talents in cricket today. The 22-year-old showed little nerves on his IPL debut and impressed everyone with his half-century. When Punjab takes the field in Chepauk,he will be the player to watch. Once Connolly is cleared to bowl, he will strengthen the team even further.
Weather
Chennai will be partly cloudy and humid in the evening. However, the rains are not going to affect the match. The temperature will be around 29°C.
LIVE Telecast
The match will be broadcast live on the Star Sports channels.
LIVE Stream
CSK v PBKS can also be streamed LIVE on the JioHotstar app.
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