Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is usually the betting favorites when they play against the Punjab Kings (PK). However, CSK’s fortunes have declined significantly during the last 12 months and things do not look very bright for them this year as well.
CSK started their 2021 IPL campaign with a loss to the Delhi Capitals. What will be troubling to CSK fans is that CSK does not appear to have learned from their glaring mistakes in IPL 2020. If CSK continues to make the same mistakes in IPL 2021, it would be disastrous for punters to keep betting on the men in yellow as they are going to lose a lot more games.
CSK’s next outing in IPL 2021 is against PK on April 16 in Mumbai. Bet365 is playing it fair and giving both teams the same betting odds of 1.90. Our betting experts don’t agree with these odds as they feel that PK definitely had the edge over CSK. We give you a breakdown of the strengths and weaknesses of each side and our predictions as to who we think will win.
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CSK – Keys To Victory
CSK cannot afford to suffer a second consecutive loss in the IPL as it will very demoralizing for the men in yellow, even if captain MS Dhoni puts up a brave face. CSK continues to hold on to a strategy that has worked well for them in the past but has failed them consistently in recent times.
CSK needs to lose some of those loyalty and family ties it has with players that have served the franchise well. Faf du Plessis may be given another chance against PK but if he fails again, they got to experiment with new faces. They need to get Mooen Ali to open and Suresh Raina to bat at three. Sam Curran also needs to bat at either five or six.
When it comes to the bowling department, CSK needs to strengthen their fast bowling resources by bringing in L Ngidi or J Behrendorff. If CSK refuses to make these changes and waits till they get to the middle of the tournament, they are going to struggle once again in IPL 2021.
PK – Keys To Victory
Punjab Kings started their IPL campaign with a tremendous performance against the Rajasthan Royals. Their captain KL Rahul led from the front with an impressive 91 and the middle-order fired with Gayle and Hooda playing good knocks. The big question for PK is how will they perform if KL Rahul gets out early? We will have to wait and see.
Will PK continue to play the two Aussie fast bowlers in J Richardson and R Meredith who were both very expensive against the Royals. While the batting performed really well in the opening game, their bowling department was rather average.
It might be premature for PK to drop both fast bowlers against CSK as they certainly need to give them a few more chances. However, PK might think about dropping one of the pacers and bringing in either Chris Jordan or a spinner in Fabian Allen.
Verdict
We definitely believe that PK has the edge going into their match against CSK. If PK can fix things in their bowling department, it should not be difficult for them to notch up their second win. If CSK is willing to embrace the new and abandon their old game plan, they will definitely have a better chance of beating PK. However, we don’t believe they will and hence have our money on PK to win.
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