Favourites PBKS aim to extend Chepauk dominance

Looking at what the two teams have achieved in IPL history, few would tag Punjab Kings as favourites when they clash against the mighty Chennai Super Kings. But recent form and history suggest otherwise. At this moment in time, PBKS are clearly the better established side of the two. As Ruturaj Gaikwad mentioned in the pre-match press conference, how you fare in a mega auction matters a lot for the entire cycle and PBKS ticked several boxes back then ahead of the 2025 season. Their head coach Ricky Ponting believes they are even better compared to the first season of the cycle where they almost clinched their maiden title.

Living up to that billing, they also started on a fine note by getting past Gujarat Titans in their first game of the new season. Cooper Connolly has effortlessly replaced Josh Inglis at No. 3 by delivering a match-winning performance on his IPL debut. But what would ultimately give PBKS more confidence heading into this fixture is the recent record they enjoy at this venue. They won here in 2023, they won here in 2024 and even after a revamp, they won again in 2025. No other team in the IPL to do that to CSK at their own den in the last three seasons. There should be little to no surprise if they make it four in a row on Friday.

CSK on the other hand are aleady under a bit of pressure after coming up with the worst batting performance in the opening round. This young batting unit that they have assembled is designed to flourish on placid surfaces and when the going got tough in Guwahati, they just crumbled. Thankfully for them, they will find the conditions much more batting friendly at home this time. But in such a scenario, will the bowling attack then be put under the pump given it dominated the pre-season chatter? Come what may, this could prove to be a decisive fixture for the five-time champions. An early dent in the campaign will not be ideal considering the fact that there's a high-voltage clash coming up on Sunday at the home of the champions.

When: CSK vs PBKS, IPL 2026, April 3 at 7:30 PM IST

Where: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

What to expect: Going by what we saw in the T20 World Cup recently, the wickets at Chepauk are expected to be batting friendly. The skies will stay clear.

Head to head: CSK 16 - 16 PBKS. PBKS have dominated this fixture in recent times with a 6-1 record.

Team Watch

Chennai Super Kings

Injuries/Unavailabilities: While MS Dhoni continues to be on the sidelines, CSK could receive a massive boost in the form of Dewald Brevis. Gaikwad remained non-committal about the South African's participation, but Brevis batted in the nets away from the main group and looked comfortable.

Tactics & Matchups: Ruturaj Gaikwad has a poor record in the Powerplay against left-arm pacers, averaging just 23 at a strike rate of 117.94. However, Sanju Samson enjoys a great record against Arshdeep Singh.

Probable XII: Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Sanju Samson (WK), Ayush Mhatre, Kartik Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Prashant Veer, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Matt Henry

Punjab Kings

Injuries/Unavailabilities: Any concerns over Shreyas Iyer's participation was put to rest by assistant coach Brad Haddin prior to the game. Thankfully for PBKS, their skipper hasn't broken a bone. In fact, he looked imperious during the practice session sending several balls into the stands.

Tactics & Matchups: If Samson does manage to bat beyond the Powerplay, PBKS will have to introduce Yuzvendra Chahal into the attack as early as possible. The leg spinner has had great success against the opener, dismissing him five times so far.

Probable XII: Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Priyansh Arya, Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (C), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak/Harpreet Brar, Yuzvendra Chahal

Did you know:

- The average first innings score at Chepauk during the recently-concluded T20 World Cup was 197.

- At home, CSK lost five games and won only one in the 2025 season.

- Sanju Samson, all set to make his home debut for CSK, shockingly averages just 13.16 at a strike rate 105.33 at Chepauk.

What they said:

"I congratulated him on his first boundary for yellow, first run obviously. So, whatever 10-15 balls were there, we had some amount of fun. Being a south boy, I knew he will always be welcomed here and I'm definitely more delighted to have him in my squad. A player with a lot of experience, a lot of calibre and definitely someone who I can always go up to. So it is a good addition. Hopefully, we will have many more partnerships to come for many seasons." - Ruturaj Gaikwad on his new opening partner Sanju Samson

"We've known about him in Australia for some time. We were pretty keen to get him early in the auction. We spoke very early in our preparation about getting hold of Cooper before anyone could get a real look at how good he was and I think everyone got a taste of the maturity he has with the bat and the way he controlled the innings in his first IPL game under pressure." - Brad Haddin on Cooper Connolly's IPL debut