Varun Chakravarthy is back. The leg-spinner, who sat out Kolkata Knight Riders’ last two matches with a sore finger, slotted straight in this evening as Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and, almost on autopilot, chose to field first. Most captains still fear late-innings dew under the Chepauk lights, so the decision hardly shocked anyone.
Only one change for KKR: Varun for Navdeep Saini. That keeps Anukul Roy’s left-arm spin in the XI, giving Rahane two slow options on a surface that has been a touch unpredictable since its World Cup re-lay. Hand on heart, Knight Riders just need a result; they are the only side yet to chalk up a win this season.
Chennai Super Kings are only marginally better off, sitting ninth with one victory in four. Still, Sanju Samson’s hundred against Delhi last week has lifted the mood. “pace-off pays off, powerplay scores surge,” Aaron Finch noted when talking early-tournament trends with Ambati Rayudu, and CSK rather hope those words ring true again tonight.
Ruturaj Gaikwad stuck with his winning combination. The home side will almost certainly turn to Akeal Hosein as their Impact Player once spin becomes king; if the track livens up for the quicks, Matt Henry offers a Plan B. Finn Allen remains KKR’s most likely impact option, short of a late rethink.
Teams
Chennai Super Kings: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Sarfaraz Khan, Jamie Overton, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Gurjapneet Singh. Bench: Matthew Short, Akeal Hosein, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Matt Henry.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Cameron Green, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Ramandeep Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakravarthy, Kartik Tyagi, Vaibhav Arora. Bench: Manish Pandey, Finn Allen, Tejasvi Singh, Navdeep Saini, Tim Seifert.
Key points to watch
• KKR’s death-over bowling looked thin without Varun; how fit is that finger after a fortnight’s rest?
• The relaid pitch tended to slow up in the World Cup, bringing cutters and cross-seam into play. CSK’s battery of left-armers could enjoy that change of pace.
• Dube versus Narine may decide the middle overs; one plays spin aggressively, the other survives on subtle variations.
Neither side is flying, but a win tonight nudges the season back on track. A small step, perhaps, yet an important one.
