3 player battles to watch out for in CSK vs PBKS, Match 49 of IPL 2025 ft. Ayush Mhatre

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will play Punjab Kings (PBKS) for the second time this season in match 49 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). The two sides will square off at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday, April 30.

Every game from here on is a must-win for Punjab as they look to qualify for the playoffs. They’re currently placed fifth in the points table, with 11 points from nine games. Their most recent encounter against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was washed out, and they’ve suffered three losses so far.

CSK, on the other hand, are placed last in the standings with seven losses and just two wins from nine outings this season. They have won only one game in their last five outings and have had a season to forget this year. With the threat of elimination hovering over their head, the Men in Yellow would look to improve their position in the points table by bagging wins in the remaining games.

PBKS beat CSK in a high-scoring affair when the two sides met earlier this season in Punjab. Now, the hosts would look to make it 1-1 and make the visitors’ IPL 2025 journey difficult. That said, here’s a look at the three key player battles to watch out for:

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#3 Ayush Mhatre vs Arshdeep Singh

CSK have finally got their opening combination set, with two youngsters getting the scoreboard ticking early in the game. CSK’s powerplay woes took a U-turn when Shaik Rasheed and Ayush Mhatre made their way into the playing XI as the five-time champions rekindled their lineup.

Mhatre has been in good touch with the bat and looks confident when he walks out to bat. He’s been doing well against pacers and will look to perform similarly when he faces Punjab’s ace pacer Arshdeep Singh. This will be the first time Mhatre faces Arshdeep in the tournament, and this battle might as well define the fate of the game early on.

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#2 Shreyas Iyer vs Ravindra Jadeja

PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer started his IPL 2025 campaign on a high note, registering scores of 97* and 52* in the first two games. After a couple of bad outings, he came back with an 82-run knock against Hyderabad, but since then, he’s failed to make a mark with the bat.

As Iyer walks out to bat in the middle order, when CSK usually deploy spin, he’ll be up against his India teammate Ravindra Jadeja. In IPL, Iyer has scored 63 runs in 70 deliveries off the CSK all-rounder and fallen prey to him once in 11 outings.

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#1 Glenn Maxwell vs Noor Ahmad

Glenn Maxwell has had a season to forget with the bat, while he’s doing decently with the ball. In six innings of seven games so far, he’s registered scores of 0, 30, 1, 3, 7, and 7 and the team would hope for the Australian all-rounder to fare well against CSK if he gets a chance to bat.

Maxwell, being a middle-order batter, will be up against one of CSK’s finest bowlers this season- Noor Ahmad. The Aussie has scored 31 runs in 17 deliveries against the Afghan spinner in four T20 innings, with the latter dismissing him once.