Upbeat Super Kings take on struggling Kings XI

Chennai Super Kings are set to host Kings XI Punjab in a crucial fixture as the Kings are the only team to not have won a single match so far.

The Chennai Super Kings are going into this match on the back of two away victories against Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils. Matthew Hayden had been quiet till the game against Delhi but found form at the right time after the team had already lost MS Dhoni to injury. Suresh Raina seemed to be hitting the ball nicely and went on to play a match winning knock. They will be expected to do the bulk of the scoring for the Super Kings but would hope to find better support from the likes of Badrinath and Justin Kemp. While the batting seems to be in place, an area of concern remains their bowling in the Extreme Performance overs.

For Kings XI Punjab this is a crucial tie. A defeat here would mean that they would have lost all four of their opening games, leaving themselves only an outside chance of making the semi-finals. The major reason for their downfall has been the failure of their three leading batsmen. Kumar Sangakkara, Yuvraj Singh and Mahela Jayawardena have failed to fire with the bat so far. Ravi Bopara has been their biggest success with two half centuries in the three games played so far. A lot would also be expected off the young, Adrian Barath. Despite S Sreesanth being in top form, the bowling unit has struggled as a whole and have failed to keep sides quiet in the Quick start as well as Extreme Performance overs.