The last game of the league stage of IPL 2018, CSK vs KXIP, could well turn out to be a dead rubber or a very, very crucial fixture for Kings XI Punjab. Their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs hang by a thin thread, and will be destroyed if Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Daredevils in the afternoon fixture. Provided that the Daredevils beat Mumbai, then KXIP still have an uphill task (-0.490) to better Rajasthan Royals’ NRR (-0.250)

On the other hand, the Super Kings have already sealed their spot in the top two along with SRH and will sense an opportunity to finish first to have the mindset advantage before the first qualifier.

HEAD TO HEAD

Over the last decade, the teams have met each other 19 times with CSK enjoying a better head to head record with 11 wins.

In the reverse fixture at Mohali, Chris Gayle played his first game of the 2018 IPL and his blazing half century helped KXIP post 197. In reply, MS Dhoni played a special innings (79*), however, was unable to take CSK over the line.

Prior to the meeting earlier this season, CSK had won each of their last 3 fixtures against KXIP.

TEAM NEWS

In the previous fixture against DD, the Super Kings brought in Ngidi, who bowled an economical spell and picked up two wickets. With one eye on the playoff stage, it is unlikely that CSK will want to disturb this combination.

On the other end of the spectrum, Kings XI have been constantly changing and chopping their side – one of the reasons for their fall to the bottom half of the table. Domestic batsman like Mayank Agarwal and Karun Nair haven’t contributed much to the season and were dropped for the previous fixture. The big change for KXIP would depend on the fitness of Mujeeb Ur Rehman, who along with Tye has been the most consistent bowler this IPL for KXIP

EXPECTED PLAYING XI

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS

Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, Sam Billings, MS Dhoni, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Harbhajan Singh, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi

KINGS XI PUNJAB

Chris Gayle, KL Rahul, Aaron Finch, Yuvraj Singh, Manoj Tiwary, Karun Nair, Axar Patel, Marcus Stoinis/ Mujeeb Rahman, R. Ashwin, Andrew Tye, Ankit Rajpoot

FANTASY TEAM FOR CSK VS KXIP

PLAY FANTASY CRICKET AND FOOTBALL ON FANFIGHT. CREATE YOUR BEST 6 AND WIN BIG. To participate in the CSK VS KXIP FanFight click here.

CAPTAIN RAHUL

KL Rahul has been in the form of his life, and it is difficult to look beyond the wicketkeeper-batsman for a safer choice of captain. The opener has stayed beyond the 19^th over on three occasions and has single-handedly scored more runs than the top 7 batsmen of the team, including scoring the fastest 50 in the history of IPL If KXIP are to have any chance of bettering RRs run rate, then it is imperative that KL Rahul has to play a big innings again.

RAHUL THIS IPL

TYE-ING UP THE LOOSE ENDS

Since his hat-trick on debut in the IPL last season, Tye has been a dangerous bowler in this format. The variety of slower balls, the knuckleball and the short ball has been his speciality and given that he picks wickets at the death, he is a must-have in the Fantasy League

TYE IN RECENT T20 TOURNAMENTS

SQUADS

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS

Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Sam Billings, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Harbhajan Singh, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi, Faf du Plessis, Murali Vijay, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma, N Jagadeesan, David Willey, KM Asif, Kanishk Seth, Dhruv Shorey, Kshitiz Sharma, Monu Kumar, Chaitanya Bishnoi

KINGS XI PUNJAB

Lokesh Rahul(w), Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch, Yuvraj Singh, Manoj Tiwary, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma, Ankit Rajpoot, Karun Nair, David Miller, Mayank Agarwal, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Barinder Sran, Akshdeep Nath, Ben Dwarshuis, Pardeep Sahu, Mayank Dagar, Manzoor Dar

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