3 player battles to watch out for in CSK vs LSG, Match 39 of IPL 2024 ft. Shivam Dube vs Ravi Bishnoi

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) begin their stretch of three successive home games with a challenging encounter against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Monday, April 22. The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side were recently ousted by KL Rahul and company in Lucknow and will be on the lookout to level things on home turf.

LSG were arguably dominant across all three departments en route to a comfortable win over CSK. The Yellow Army are struggling away from home, but are yet to taste defeat at home along expected lines.

Despite a set of defeats recently for LSG, they are looking like a team on the rise. KL Rahul finding form and the potential return of Mayank Yadav make them a huge threat. On the other hand, CSK's home advantage remains their biggest armor as things are not clicking long enough in the squad to make a long-lasting impact.

With LSG arguably posing one of the best spin attacks in the entire competition, the clash at the Chepauk should be riveting. Furthermore, with the two sides having only recently met, the matchups would also be quite vivid although changes are to be expected personnel-wise considering the conditions.

On that note, let us take a look at three player battles to watch out for in CSK vs LSG IPL 2024 contest.

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#1 KL Rahul vs Deepak Chahar

KL Rahul has a phenomenal record against Deepak Chahar in the shortest format, and it was on show during the recent encounter. The opening batter had taken down Chahar in the powerplay en route to a solid 82 off 53 deliveries. With the right-arm pacer not being in the best of form, a repeat could well be on offer at the second time of asking.

Rahul will be keen on capitalizing on the powerplay much like the last time and taking down Chahar will be key to asserting themselves in the proceedings. If Chahar struggles to find movement, which has been the case on most occasions, then Rahul will not shy away from making the most of the situation.

In 10 meetings against each other, Rahul has scored 157 runs off 96 deliveries at a strike rate of 163.54. Chahar has conceded 25 boundaries in the process against the right-handed batter and has failed to dismiss him even once.

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#2 Shivam Dube vs Ravi Bishnoi

Shivam Dube against the spinners has more or less been the backbone of CSK's batting this season. Given the inconsistency in the top order, the responsibility of stabilizing and accelerating the innings has fallen to Dube.

LSG managed to keep Dube quiet in Lucknow, dismissing him for just three runs off eight deliveries. On that occasion, Marcus Stoinis had claimed the wicket and the spinners were not that exposed to Dube. However, lightning may not strike twice and the spinners might have to be up against the explosive left-handed batter this time around.

Ravi Bishnoi, with his innate googlies and a brilliant record against the left-handed batters at times, will prove to be LSG's biggest weapon in this instance. The leg-spinner has dismissed Dube once across four meetings, interestingly at the Chepauk last season. He will be looking to repeat the same and hoping to keep Dube relatively quiet as he has done in the past.

Dube has scored 33 runs off 21 deliveries against Bishnoi at a strike rate of 157.14 while hitting four sixes in the process.

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#3 Nicholas Pooran vs Matheesha Pathirana

Even if Nicholas Pooran hangs around for the last five overs, it means trouble for CSK. Keeping the explosive Caribbean under check would be one of the biggest priorities for CSK, as he can turn the game around singlehandedly even if the CSK spinners manage to control and dominate the middle overs.

Pooran does not have a great record at the Chepauk, but he has an impactful strike rate of 168. Luckily CSK have a potent weapon, an equal match for Pooran in the form of Matheesha Pathirana. The right-arm pacer will be crucial in the death overs where Pooran mostly operates.

The pair have not been up against each other too much, considering Pathirana has just started his career. In the sole face-off, Pooran has scored eight runs off eight deliveries with the aid of one boundary.