Punjab Kings (PBKS) clinched victory in their opening match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in what was a humdinger of a contest. They would now want to carry the confidence of the win into the second match where they face Chennai Super Kings (CSK) who were defeated by Delhi Capitals (DC) in their first match and are languishing at the bottom of the table by virtue of net run-rate.
PBKS were far from their best with regard to bowling in their previous match as they let RR score in excess of 200. It was Arshdeep Singh who held his nerve at the death to seal victory. They would want to improve in that regard while their batting looks pretty organized at the moment.
On that note, we take a look at how PBKS can defeat CSK today.
IPL 2021: PBKS vs CSK – Key for PBKS #1: Aussie pacers must keep things tighter
The Australian pace duo of Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith were acquired for a huge combined sum in excess of Rs. 20 crores. The two however, could not come good in the very first match. It was understandable as the two had seldom bowling in India before and it was a pitch that offered nothing to the bowlers, even as the batters made merry.
Having experienced the conditions in the first match and having taken a wicket as well, the two would want to work on their economy. If PBKS must restrict CSK to a low score, the two will have to apply the choke and keep bowling tight deliveries while also chipping away with wickets.
IPL 2021: PBKS vs CSK – Key for PBKS #2: Mayank Agarwal must contribute
PBKS would not be too worried about Mayank Agarwal‘s form, but the fact of the matter is that the opener hasn’t been in the best of touches as of late. Ever since the previous IPL where he was in red-hot form, Agarwal has been inconsistent and the same showed in the first match against RR where he was dismissed early by Chetan Sakariya.
Punjab would thus want Agarwal to contribute along with skipper KL Rahul. If the two can build a platform for the rest of the batters like Chris Gayle and Deepak Hooda to fire, CSK would struggle much like they did against Delhi Capitals when Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan were going all guns blazing.
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