The business end of the 2020 IPL season is here and so are the matches as Chennai Super Kings take on the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Chennai Super Kings will be playing for nothing but pride as Rajasthan Royals win over Mumbai Indians ruled Chennai Super Kings out of the playoff qualification. On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders who still have an outside chance for qualifying for the playoffs will look to give their absolute best to increase their chances of qualifying.
Chennai Super Kings will use this opportunity to try out their bench strength in order to prepare a team for the next IPL season which will happen in April. We already saw in the last match how Ruturaj Gaikwad flourished once he was asked to come which is why similarly we might just see more opportunities given to more youngsters in the side.
Also Read: Watch – Hardik Pandya-Chris Morris Engage In Verbal Fight
With the match expected to be a distinct encounter between the two sides let’s just see how players from each side fare as they take on each other.
Let’s take a look at the top 5 key players we should watch out for when Kolkata Knight Riders lock horns with Chennai Super Kings:
1. Ruturaj Gaikwad
The youngster was finally provided with an opportunity as an opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore where he managed to get hold of his first IPL fifty as he took Chennai Super Kings past the finishing line at Dubai.
Also Read: Unknown Facts About CSK Batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad
In the previous few matches, Gaikwad was asked to bat in the middle order where he couldn’t flourish as he was batting out of his position but once Gaikwad was promoted he ended up showing the world what the young batsman from Pune is capable of doing. It will be interesting to see how Gaikwad fares against Kolkata Knight Riders in the next game.
2. Sunil Narine
The Caribbean Southpaw began this season-opening the innings for Kolkata Knight Riders but somehow just couldn’t get going. Eventually, there came a point when in the match against Kings XI Punjab he was reported for a suspect action. Sunil Narine then went on to make minor changes to his action after which he was cleared to bowl.
Also Read: IPL 2020: Eoin Morgan Reveals Who’s Decision It Was To Bat Sunil Narine At 5
Sunil Narine was included back in the playing XI against Delhi Capitals at Abu Dhabi where he came in to bat at 5 and ended up scoring 64 runs off 32 deliveries in a 100 run partnership with Nitish Rana.
3. Sam Curran
The English all-rounder has been rising star for the Chennai Super Kings franchise ever since the first game that happened against Mumbai Indians. Other than his sublime bowling performance we’ve also seen glimpses of his firm striking of the ball.
Also Read: IPL 2020: Sam Curran-Imran Tahir’s Record Partnership In CSK’s Humiliating Defeat vs MI
In the last match against Mumbai Indians, it was Sam Curran alone who batted throughout the innings scoring a valuable 51 run knock in a match where Chennai Super Kings were comprehensively beaten by Mumbai Indians.
4. Nitish Rana
The Delhi batsman was having a disappointing run this season as he failed to score a single fifty in 10 matches for Kolkata Knight Riders. Despite repetitive failures, the Kolkata Knight Riders team management backed him and sent him to open against DC, where he in a 100 run partnership with Sunil Narine scored a vital knock of 81 runs off 53 balls to take Kolkata Knight Riders to a respectable total of 194.
After completion of his fifty, Nitish Rana dedicating his fifty was seen rolling out a jersey by the name of his father in law ‘Surinder Singh’ who passed away the previous night.
5. Shubman Gill
The young gun Shubman Gill has been firing all shots this season with his bat as he’s the highest run-scorer for the Kolkata Knight Riders side this season. After trusting him to open alongside Sunil Narine this season, Shubman Gill has proved his mantle with what he’s capable of.
Also Read: BCCI Announce India’s Test Squad For Australia Tour
Off late he hasn’t looked in good touch since the last 2-3 games but a player like Shubman Gill can never be counted out as we should expect the young man to score a lot many runs going forward in this season. Recently he was also named in India’s squad for the Australia tour will is to take place later this year.