3 player battles to watch out for in CSK vs KKR, Match 25 of IPL 2025 ft. Ravichandran Ashwin

Five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will host defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 25th match of the ongoing 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL). The match will be contested at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday, April 11.

KKR’s tournament started with a defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and since then, they have lost a total of three matches while winning two. CSK, on the other hand, started their campaign with a win against their arch-rivals Mumbai Indians (MI) but have gone on to lose four games since.

CSK will now be led by MS Dhoni after Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out of the tournament owing to an elbow fracture a day before their clash against KKR. The team’s head coach, Stephen Fleming, made the official announcement during a press conference on Thursday, April 10.

CSK have faced a massive setback with Gaikwad’s exit, but the fans will rejoice as they will get to see Dhoni at the helm once again, for the first time since the IPL 2023 final. KKR, meanwhile, is being led by former CSK player Ajinkya Rahane, who will have a decent idea of what strategies to make against the Men in Yellow, having been with the team for quite some time.

With the two champion sides set to face off, here’s looking at three player battles to watch out for:

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#3 Sunil Narine (Batter) vs Khaleel Ahmed (Bowler)

Sunil Narine has been opening the batting for KKR. He started well but his past few outings have not been up to the mark. Khaleel Ahmed’s outings, too, have scope of improvement, but the new-ball bowler has managed to provide the team with breakthroughs in the powerplay.

The two cricketers have faced off in five innings, with Narine facing 18 deliveries off Ahmed and scoring 27 runs. The CSK bowler has also managed to dismiss the KKR veteran twice in these outings, and the duo will be up against each other once again.

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#2 Shivam Dube (Batter) vs Varun Chakaravarthy (Bowler)

Shivam Dube has managed to hit the big shots this season, but he has failed to take the innings deep, getting out cheaply in almost every match. However, it is known to everyone that Dube is a great player of spin.

When CSK take on KKR, he’ll be up against the team’s top spinner- Varun Chakaravarthy. The two cricketers have had a good history of playing against each other, with the mystery spinner dismissing the CSK all-rounder once in six innings, and the latter hitting the bowler for 53 runs in 29 deliveries, including two fours and five sixes.

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#1 Venkatesh Iyer (Batter) vs Ravichandran Ashwin (Bowler)

Venkatesh Iyer very easily settled in the middle-order to accommodate batters of high calibre in the top order. While skipper Ajinkya Rahane has taken charge of the top order, Venkatesh Iyer has proved to be a crucial cog in the middle.

At Chepauk, he’ll be up against Ravichandran Ashwin, one of the finest spinners of world cricket. With Chennai being the spinner’s home ground, he’ll form strategies to hold the in-form Madhya Pradesh cricketer to get his side on top in the game.