Is Matheesha Pathirana playing today's CSK vs PBKS IPL 2024 match?

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are all set to face Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the 49th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday (May 1).

The home team was forced to make a couple of changes to its playing XI, as compared to the previous game, as Matheesha Pathirana and Tushar Deshpande had to miss out.

CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad informed at the toss that Pathirana had a niggle due to which he had to opt out of the contest against PBKS. As a result, Richard Gleeson replaced the Lankan pacer in the XI, making his debut for the five-time champions.

CSK's playing XI for PBKS contest: Ajinkya Rahane, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Daryl Mitchell, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Richard Gleeson, Mustafizur Rahman

Impact Substitutes: Sameer Rizvi, Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh, Shaik Rasheed, Prashant Solanki

CSK look to keep winning momentum going

After suffering back-to-back defeats at the hands of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), CSK bounced back to winning ways by defeating SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their previous contest of the IPL 2024.

Playing another fixture at their 'Fortress Chepauk', which has been breached just once this season, CSK would be confident of keeping their winning momentum going, even without their key death-over bowler Pathirana.

The defending champions are currently placed fourth on the points table, with 10 points from nine matches, whereas Punjab Kings are struggling in the bottom half of the table. They are placed eighth with three wins and six losses in nine matches.

If CSK manage to win their upcoming clash against PBKS while also bettering their net run rate, they will jump to the second spot on the points table, thereby overtaking third-placed LSG and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who are placed second.

As for the toss results, Ruturaj Gaikwad won yet another toss as his side was put to bat first by the visiting side that is led by stand-in skipper Sam Curran.