Welcome to RCB vs MI Live Coverage! After 21 exciting matches, it’s time for the game between Punjab Kings and Chennai Super Kings, who will be playing on 8 March at PCA International Stadium, New Chandigarh. Both teams are coming off losses in their last matches, but Punjab has performed well this season. In the four matches played, CSK lost three of them, while Punjab registered two victories in their three matches.
PBKS 17/0 in 1 Over – Priyansh Smacks Two Sixes in a Fiery Start!
Priyansh takes strike against Khaleel. SIX! Width outside off, and Priyansh lifts it cleanly over point for the first maximum of the match. Dropped! He tries to flick a length ball but doesn’t connect well off the toe-end back to Khaleel, who gets a hand to it but can’t hold on.
No ball from Khaleel FREE HIT! He nails the yorker, and Priyansh digs it out to point, no run. Another chance! A wide ball on the body, Priyansh goes for the punch but slices it just past short third lucky escape. SIX again! Another loose delivery, wide outside off, and Priyansh smashes it over covers. The over ends with a swinging delivery into the pads, and Priyansh nudges it through square leg for two.
What a start for PBKS!
CSK vs PBKS: Playing XI’s
Chennai Super Kings Playing XI: Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana.
Punjab Kings Playing XI: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Impact Player Options:
Punjab Kings: Suryansh Shedge, Yash Thakur, Praveen Dubey, Azmatullah Omarzai, Vyshak Vijaykumar
Chennai Super Kings: Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda, Anshul Kamboj
TOSS UPDATE: Punjab Kings won the toss and opted to bat first.
Shreyas Iyer (Punjab Kings Captain): “We are going to bat first. It’s simply because we had a discussion about how our batting line-up is and we have to make the use of it. There wasn’t much dew last game. We need to play to our strengths and back them.
I always feel that we have delayed a lot of things than execute them. When the time was to execute those plans, we did different. We have to back ourselves to execute whatever the plans we have discussed in the team meetings.
We are going with the same team.
Ruturaj Gaikwad (Chennai Super Kings Captain): “Well, nothing much, we were also looking to bat first. Pretty dry wicket, dew isn’t a factor. New conditions for us, we have to adapt as quickly as possible.
I think we have been bowling well. It’s just that we have conceded too many big overs. Fielding is a department where we have been looking to improve each game.
We are going with the same team. Me batting at 3 gives a little more balance to the squad. That was the thinking at the auction and we built our squad around that. We have been backing that, hopefully, our openers will come good tonight.
Definitely, it is one thing we have been lacking. We have been behind in the powerplay. Sometime situation can be against us or sometimes batters can be tentative. It is about enjoying yourselves in the middle and playing fearless cricket.”
CSK vs PBKS; Pitch Report
Ganga: “We are in Chandigarh for Punjab Kings’ second home match. They are up against Chennai Super Kings. Both sides are coming off losses. Importantly, we have moved pitches. It’s a new pitch. The boundary sizes have moved. The variant of 7m in the square boundaries and the straight hit is 74m. Batters will be aiming to the leg side as a right-hander. I have Michal Clarke alongside me. When we look at the pitch, the first thing we can say is that it looks similar to the one that was used in the Punjab Kings’ game against the Royals. We don’t expect dew. What do you expect from this surface?”
Clarke: “I think consistency is the word that comes to my mind. Both wickets look identical. Again, you can see there are a few dry areas but I think batting and bowling on Saturday, it stayed very consistent. I don’t think there is too much concern with whether you win the toss or lose the toss. The most important thing is the length you bowl. When you overpitch, it was great for the batters. Ball comes on nicely. You can hit through the line. If you drop too short and particularly if your pace is down, that sets up nicely. If you hit the top of the stump length on this surface, that is your area. In the powerplay as well as in the back end of the innings, your length is crucial here.”
