IPL 2022, CSK vs PBKS Highlights: Punjab trump Chennai; Defending champions suffer third straight defeat

"Vaibhav comes in place of Harpreet Brar, Jitesh comes in place of Raj Bawa. Vaibhav can swing the ball both ways, so he is someone who we are excited about. Jitesh is a keeper who can tonk the ball in the middle," says Mayank. Jonny Bairstow has to wait!

Mayank Agarwal(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa(w), Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan, Jitesh Sharma, Odean Smith, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja(c), MS Dhoni(w), Shivam Dube, Dwayne Bravo, Chris Jordan, Dwaine Pretorius, Mukesh Choudhary

Win the toss and bowl first! Jadeja sticks to the trend. “We are bowling. We try to keep things simple, we are an experienced team. We back each and every player. One change, Chris Jordan comes in place of Tushar,” says Jadeja. 

Two new faces for Punjab! They have handed two caps - Jitesh Sharma and Vaibhav Arora are making their debuts. Chris Jordan comes in place of Tushar Deshpande for Chennai.

Chennai Super Kings elect to bowl against Punjab Kings

We saw Chennai posting 200-plus total before faltering against Lucknow. Makes one wonder if a 200-plus total is enough on the board.

"We saw CSK get defeated setting 210 the other night. If this wicket was a box of chocolates, it would be wrapped in Mumbai colours and called a Mumbai delight," says Matthew Hayden about the wicket. 

We are in for a belter! Punjab Kings can be seen forming a huddle after the warm-ups. We are moments away from the flip of coin. 

CSK on Saturday arranged a special celebration for Dhoni on the 11th anniversary of India's World Cup triumph. He had scored an unbeaten 91 off 79 balls, after Gautam Gambhir's 97-run knock at the Wankhede. Who can forget that iconic six against Kulasekara!

Dhoni has produced some fireworks so far and Chennai fans will be eager to witness another batting show from their former skipper.

Here are the Indian players with the most T20 appearances:

Rohit Sharma - 372

MS Dhoni - 349*

Suresh Raina - 336

Dinesh Karthik - 329

Virat Kohli - 328

MS Dhoni is set to make his 350th appearance in the shortest format! He is on the verge of becoming the only second Indian player to reach the mark after Rohit Sharma.

The Chennai bowling has been a mess so far but wily fox Bravo continues to deliver in the IPL jamboree. In the game against Lucknow, he became the highest wicket-taker in IPL history with 171 wickets to his name.

While Moeen Ali adds depth to Chennai's batting unit, their bowling has been cluttered so far. Sloppy fieldwork due to the dew factor plunges further misery on the defending champions. Both Deshpande and Choudhary were expensive against Lucknow, and Dube's 25-run over turned the game completely.

"Moeen Ali, honestly, is an unbelievable player. I only watched him closely for the first time when he joined the CSK squad in the last season," CSK batting coach Michael Hussey said on Star Sports about Moeen Ali's return.

"So, I didn't realise how good a player he actually is. He's a beautiful batsman, a graceful player. Just the way he times the cricket ball is fantastic."

Arsheep was ineffective against Kolkata, giving away 32 runs in his three overs. He was among the retentions and Arshdeep would want to repay the faith shown in him by the franchise. The left-arm pacer had plucked the prized wicket of Faf du Plessis in his side's opener against Bangalore.

MS Dhoni can be expected to play the job of a finisher again, and we have already seen shades of a vintage MS so far. The former skipper has got over 600 runs against Punjab at an average of 55.18. So far, his strike rate this season has been 218.50.

Paddle shots, elegant pulls and sweetly timed drives -- Robin Uthappa's batting display against Lucknow had class written all over it. The veteran will look to repeat his performance, especially in the powerplay.

We are less than an hour away from the much-awaited toss! Expect multiple changes in both starting eleven. 

Rajapaksa has been in blistering form for Punjab Kings this year. He has scored a total of 75 runs in just two matches, at a strike rate of 238.70. 

The average first innings score at the Brabourne is 189. Notably, Lucknow's 211 for four against Chennai was the highest team score and run chase at the venue.

T20 matches played: 6

Games won by teams batting first: 3

Games won by teams batting second: 3

Apart from Dhawan, Punjab Kings skipper Mayank Agarwal will also look to steer his side to a steady start. He has got 400-run seasons in 2020 and 2021.

Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed for 16 in the last game and the experienced batter will look to help Punjab return to winnings ways. Dhawan is also only seven boundaries short of becoming the first Indian cricketer in the history of T20s to slam a thousand fours.

Players to his 1000 or more fours in the T20 format

Chris Gayle - 1132

Alex Hales - 1054

David Warner - 1005

In the KKR-PBKS game, Sunil Narine cleaned up Raj Bawa, who has struggled to get going. He was phenomenal in the Under-19 World Cup but the rising youngster perhaps needs a few more games to find his feet. Bairstow's return to the batting mix makes his place even more vulnerable.

Rahul Chahar bowled a double-wicket maiden in the seventh over against Kolkata and the leggie's four overs will be crucial for Punjab today. He could form a lethal partnership with Harpreet Brar. For early breakthroughs, Punjab rely heavily on Rabada and Arshdeep. Also, Sandeep could come in place of Raj Bawa.