Pitch Report | Daren Ganga & Michael Clarke: We move pitches, we move a little eastwards, it’s a new pitch. The boundary dimensions have changed, the captains and bowlers will use the larger square boundary, 69m, a difference of 7m and it’s 74m down the ground. Consistency is the word that comes to mind, it looks identical to the wicket on Saturday. There are a few dry areas, I think batting and bowling stayed pretty consistent. Runs on the board helped on Saturday. It’s important for mine is the length you bowl on this wicket. Sometimes you saw that when you overpitch, it’s easy to hit through the line and if you drop too short, that set up nicely. Jofra Arches hit the top of good length, I think that’s your area so the length is crucial here.

Our early bird, Gokul, keeps on bringing the updates thick and fast: Stonis, Jansen and Vyshak have marked their run-ups, although Vyshak also marked his before the last game but didn't play.

Gokul adds: MS finally arrives, having a chat with Arshdeep Singh and Chahal, before walking towards the CSK group.

Expect plenty of yellow in the stands today. People mostly buying Jersey No. 7 outside the ground, Gokul Gopal further adds...

Gokul Gopal further adds: Trevor Gonsalves, PBKS assistant bowling coach, said at the press conference yesterday that the team will be making one change, without specifying.

Our correspondent, Gokul Gopal, reports from the venue: From Chandigarh... The PBKS players have already started their warm-up routine while CSK's coaches are setting things up now.

CSK have had a torrid time in the initial phase of their campaign. They won their opening against MI at home but since then, they have lost their way with three losses in a row. They have conceded more than 180 in all of their last three games and their batters have been found more or less wanting during run-chases. The visitors have struggled with their opening partnership so far and that might push the case for their skipper, Gaikwad, to promote himself to the top of the order. Gaikwad has flourished as an opener for CSK and that might be the best suited role for him. The visitors have variety in their bowling attack but their batters need to step things up if they are to revive their campaign. As far as recent history goes, PBKS have won five out of their last six games against CSK and that holds the hosts in good stead. Toss and team lineups will be announced shortly...

18:25 Local Time, 12:55 GMT, 18:25 IST: It’s time for the second game of today’s double-header as PBKS gear up to host CSK at Mullanpur. The new Chandigarh stadium hasn’t been a happy-hunting ground for the hosts as they have only managed to win one out of six games here across two seasons. The hosts had hit the ground running as they won their opening two games of the season but faultered in their last game against RR at this venue. Their bowlers conceded in excess of 200 and then their batters couldn’t fire on a surface which played a bit slow especially in the second innings. The positive thing though for PBKS is that Shreyas Iyer has been on a purple patch with the bat of late. Nehal Wadhera has struck back-to-back fifties and has looked in prime touch as well. Their bowlers need to be more penetrative and disciplined.

Preview by Gokul Gopal

Delhi Capitals remain the only team unbeaten at home (and away). Every other side has suffered at least one home loss - 10 out of 19 matches so far have been lost by the home teams - with Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad faring the worst. Reeling from three consecutive defeats, their campaign is in early disarray and CSK will be desperate to course-correct. Their opponents, Punjab Kings, haven't had it easy either at home, enduring their fifth successive loss at the new Chandigarh stadium, carrying on from last season. Now as they get set to play their second home game this season, PBKS will be hoping to decode the conditions better and rediscover their winning touch.

Among the most balanced sides in this IPL, PBKS perhaps misread the conditions in the previous match against Rajasthan Royals, under-utilising their spinners - a lapse later acknowledged by spin coach Sunil Joshi. They ended up conceding the first 200-plus total in the IPL in Mullanpur and then lost early wickets that left them far short of the target. It was a collective off-day, and skipper Shreyas Iyer was thankful it came early in their campaign. But PBKS can take heart from Nehal Wadhera's impressive spin-hitting skills and a promising knock from Glenn Maxwell.

In contrast to PBKS, who have largely been on point this season barring the slip-up against RR, CSK have looked completely out of sorts. They have conceded over 180 in three games bowling first on slowish pitches and struggled in run-chases, with all three departments misfiring. Having already used all seven overseas players and 17 squad members at some point in their four matches, CSK are clearly grappling with issues of balance and adaptability - problems they must solve quickly or risk falling behind.

When: Tuesday, April 8 at 7:30 PM IST

Where: Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur

What to expect: RR's batting approach in the previous game in Mullanpur could well serve as a blueprint for teams at this venue. They paced their innings smartly - starting steadily, preserving wickets, and accelerating in the second half - to post a 200-plus total. With dew having little impact in the second innings, captains might now be more inclined to bat first after winning the toss.

Head to head: CSK have a 16-14 record against PBKS but the latter have found a lot of success in recent years, having won 4 out of five matches since 2022.

Team watch

Punjab Kings:

Injury & availability: The home side currently have no reported injury concerns, but they might consider a tweak to their line-up by bringing in an additional spinner. Harpreet Brar could be drafted into the XI in place of Suryansh Shedge.

Tactics & match-ups: Iyer, Wadhera and Maxwell will be PBKS' key batters against CSK's spin trio. Wadhera has scored 79 runs off 48 balls at a strike rate of 165 against spin so far while Maxwell also enjoys a good strike rate against R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Noor Ahmad, although he has been dismissed seven times by the left-arm spinner.

Probable XII: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Marcus Stoinis, Nehal Wadhera, Glenn Maxwell, Shashank Singh, Harpreet Brar, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Lockie Ferguson, Yuzvendra Chahal

Chennai Super Kings:

Injury & availability: CSK also don't have any injury concerns at the moment. Even Ruturaj Gaikwad, who had an elbow injury scare before their last match against DC, featured in that game and also looked fine batting in the nets ahead of the game against PBKS. Meanwhile, CSK could look at leaving out Mukesh Choudhary, who had an expensive outing last time around, and bring in Anshul Kamboj if they want to stick to the same overseas line-up they had last time.

Tactics & match-ups: CSK have struggled to find strong starts with the bat this season, which might prompt a reshuffle in their batting order. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who averages 44 as an opener compared to 23.55 in the middle order, could benefit from a return to the top of the order. Meanwhile, Shivam Dube could have an important role to play against Yuzvendra Chahal, who has struggled against left-handed batters, having conceded 303 runs at an economy rate of 10.95 against southpaws in the IPL since 2024.

Probable XII: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Vijay Shankar, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary/Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana

Did you know?

- CSK have the lowest scoring rate (7.50), lowest average (22.50) and lowest boundary percentage (17.24 %) among all teams in the powerplay in this IPL

- Since May 2024, Dube has been dismissed by spin six times in eight innings he faced spin. In comparison, in the 21 previous innings where he faced spin he was dismissed only five times

- MS Dhoni averages only 13.80 in CSK's wins since 2023 while his average in losses goes up to 90.67. He has not scored a single boundary in a successful run chase in this period

- PBKS have a win percentage of only 13.3 at home since 2023, with SRH's 43.8 being the second lowest

What they said:

"I really do not see anything much changing in the wickets in just a 40-over game. There is nothing much to it. T20 is all about who does well on that given day. For example, if you see CSK, they have been one of the top teams but in the last few matches they have lost. That does not mean that they are a bad team or not doing well. And it is very early in the tournament now to judge anyone. We have just started" - Trevor Gonsalves[/b], PBKS assistant bowling coach.

"I think this is not the first time any team is going through this. Some teams get off to a good start and some teams take their own time to find their combinations and their roles, so I think it's still very early stages, we will take it one day at a time and then plan for the next opposition more than anything else" - S Sriram, CSK assistant bowling coach.

With statistical inputs from Deepu Narayanan

Squads:

Punjab Kings Squad: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Marcus Stoinis, Nehal Wadhera, Glenn Maxwell, Shashank Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Lockie Ferguson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar, Praveen Dubey, Vishnu Vinod, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Josh Inglis, Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Aaron Hardie, Azmatullah Omarzai, Kuldeep Sen, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash

Chennai Super Kings Squad: Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Vijay Shankar, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Jamie Overton, Shaik Rasheed, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Gopal, Sam Curran, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Andre Siddarth C, Vansh Bedi