IPL 2018: CSK vs KXIP - 5 players to watch out for

There have been many twists and turns in this edition of the IPL. It now boils down to the last day of the league stage as Chennai Super Kings take on Kings XI Punjab at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune on Sunday.

For the starters, if Kings XI Punjab lose, they will be out of the tournament. In order to make the playoffs, they should beat CSK by a huge margin and hope that Mumbai Indians lose to Daredevils in the first game of the double header on Sunday.

On the other hand, having already qualified to the knock-out phase, the two-time champion will now focus on finishing at top two to avail themselves a second opportunity in the playoffs.

With one team eying an extra chance in playoffs and the other battling a do-or-die, let us take a look at five players who are likely to play pivotal roles in this clash:

---

#5 Lungi Ngidi

Returning to the CSK fold, Lungi Ngidi impressed one and all with his sharp pace and accuracy in their last game against Delhi Daredevils. The Proteas speedster plunged DD into trouble by picking the wickets of their two most influential batsmen, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant in the span of four deliveries.

With his team needing a win to finish in the top 2, Ngidi will look to repeat what he achieved during their recent clash against Delhi.

#4 Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle

After setting this season on fire with a sensation 63-ball-104 against the mighty SRH, Chris Gayle couldn't quite continue his rich vein of form as he just scored 204 runs off his next eight innings.

The Jamaican giant has thus far aggregated 360 runs from 10 matches at an average of 46.0 and a healthy strike rate of 147.20.

With a do-or-die clash coming up, the big man must be raring to deliver a match-winning performance.

#3 Andrew Tye

Andrew Tye

Andrew Tye has already paid back every single rupee of that huge sum spent on him with his exceptional bowling performances throughout the season.

With 24 wickets in 13 matches, the Australian speedster currently holds the purple cap. Going at 7.71 runs per over, the 31-year-old has thus far secured three four-wicket hauls with his 4/16 against Mumbai Indians in their last out being his best.

With his team on the brink of being ousted from the tournament expect another fine performance from Andrew Tye tomorrow.

#2 Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu has been in the form of his life this season. The Andhra-born batsman has been scoring runs for fun playing as an opener for Chennai Super Kings this season.

Riding on the rich vein of form he is in, the 32-year-old smashed the Delhi Daredevils’ attack with a 28-ball half-century on Friday.

With 585 runs in 13 innings at an average of 48.75 thus far this season, Rayudu stands fourth on the batting charts.

With his team desperately needing a win, Rayudu will look to come up with one more fine knock tomorrow against Kings XI Punjab.

#1 KL Rahul

KL Rahul

The Karnataka lad has been the lone fighter for Kings XI Punjab this season. The 26-year-old has single-handedly shouldered the burden of carrying KXIP's batting.

In their last game against Mumbai, the stylish batsman has fought tooth and nail with his 60-ball-94 runs but failed to get his team over the line as a result of some fabulous spell death bowling from Bumrah.

With 652 runs in 13 games at a strike rate of 161, K L Rahul would again be the batting mainstay for Punjab in this highly anticipated game against Chennai Super Kings.