Punjab Kings Impact Subs: Prabhsimran Singh, Musheer Khan, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Xavier Bartlett, Praveen Dubey

Teams:

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Shaik Rasheed, Ayush Mhatre, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Deepak Hooda, MS Dhoni(w/c), Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer(c), Josh Inglis(w), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Harpreet Brar, Marco Jansen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Suryansh Shedge, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh

Dhoni: I don't know I'm coming for the next game (laughs). One of the things is the pride factor. Majority of the games you play at home. Home advantage is very important which we haven't been able to capitalise on. Same team.

Iyer: We're going to bowl.

Punjab Kings have won the toss and have opted to field

Dewald Brewis: I'm really grateful, we've got lovely young players in our team, don't feel old but feel a bit older because I've got some experience. It's a special place, I've enjoyed my time. I love it in India, if you just look at this crowd, they roared in the last game, hopefully it's going to be the same. Love being with the team. All of the big players who've been the best have found their bases in red-ball cricket, I really love it, to spend time in the field and it's a little present you get to play this T20 format. It's shorter, quicker and a bit more exciting. For me it's all about what the team needs, I enjoy the middle order. If I have to open I'll open, I don't mind. I enjoy this middle phase to try and put your presence from ball one.

Our correspondent, Pratyush SInha, is at the venue and he says the buzz isn't the same at Chepauk today.

Pitch report | Graeme Swann and Aaron FInch: It's very hot. 68 meter boundary on one side, 65 meters on the other. Straight boundary is 80 meters. This wicket has been used during this tournament already, and in that game the KKR spinners wreaked havoc. There's not a blade of grass on the pitch. It's very very dry. There's a lot of cracking as well. As the new ball starts to wear off, it's going to spin. What does that mean for a batter? You've got to make the majority of runs when the ball is harder and skidding on. Spoke to the curator, he doesn't expect it to be as dewy as it was in the previous game because of the breeze coming in.

6.30pm local: Hello and welcome to our coverage of Match 49 between Chennai Super Kings and the Punjab Kings. It's a fixture that the Punjab Kings have dominated in recent times, winning six of the last seven matches played between them, including the one earlier this season at New Chandigarh where Priyansh Arya blazed away to his maiden IPL ton. Arya and his opening partner Prabhsimran Singh have only gone from strength to strength as the season has progressed, scoring at 10.69 rpo at the top of the order. Should they click again tonight, CSK might find it difficult to keep themselves alive in the tournament as a defeat will certainly snuff out any last remaining mathematical possibility that they're holding on to. Such has been their campaign that they've already lost four matches at a venue which used to be a fortress.

Preview by Pratyush Sinha

Despite scoring a 39-ball hundred, his first in the IPL, something still felt amiss for Priyansh Arya. "I wanted to talk to Dhoni sir, but he had left the ground by that time," the 24-year-old confessed during a media roundtable, a couple of days after helping Punjab Kings beat Chennai Super Kings by 18 runs in Mullanpur.

Fortunately for Arya, he's got a second shot at it. PBKS are in Chennai for the reverse fixture, a city where it's hard to miss Dhoni. In less than two days since arriving, Yuzvendra Chahal has already met Dhoni and even secured one of his bats, a moment captured in a PBKS video where Arya is heard joking that another cricketer from Haryana will soon be laying claim to it.

Arya might not have met Dhoni just yet, but he will hope to catch a few minutes with him after the match. Only, he can't be sure yet if it will be the right time to approach him. If CSK lose this one, they'll be out of PlayOff contention, missing the knockouts for two consecutive seasons for the first time.

CSK, to their credit, have lately made efforts to remodel their rigid and time-tested approach, opening up their hearts and their Playing XIs to the next generation. They have already used 21 players this season across nine games, fielded their youngest team since 2009 in their last match, including the second-youngest opening pair in IPL history and the youngest ever for CSK across all wickets. Still, a lot more is needed to get the wins flowing.

PBKS, on the other hand, could use an extra bat themselves. Their middle order has largely gone untested, and only one point in last two matches has meant that they find themselves back in the mid-table muddle, from where they would be desperate to break away and push into top-four.

When: Match 49, IPL 2025, on Wednesday, 30 April, at 07:30 PM LOCAL

Where: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

What to expect: It's a black soil surface and it's the most central pitch on the square, with roughly 75 and 72 meter boundaries on either side. It's forecast to be a slightly overcast day, which means there's slightly less chance of dew forming.

Head to head: CSK 16 - 15 PBKS. PBKS have beaten CSK in six of the last seven matches, which includes wins at Chepauk in 2023 and 2024.

Team watch

Chennai Super Kings

Injury/availability concerns: No reported injuries in the squad.

Tactics & matchups: In T20s this year, Dewald Brevis is averaging a shade under 48 and striking at over 181. PBKS bowlers, especially the spinners, might have their task cut out against the youngster and his battle against Chahal will be one to watch out for.

Probable XII: Shaik Rasheed, Ayush Mhatre, Deepak Hooda, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni(w/c), Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana, Anshul Kamboj/R Ashwin

Punjab Kings

Injury/availability concerns: No reported injuries in the squad.

Tactics & matchups: Glenn Maxwell against spin. Since the start of 2024 in IPL, the Australian all-rounder has faced spin in ten innings and has got out to it in all but one innings. While his offbreaks might be handy on the slow and spinny Chepauk surface, his batting form might need a major step-up if PBKS are to earn two points at this venue.

Probable XII: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer (c), Josh Inglis (w), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Azmatullah Omarzai/Xavier Bartlett, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar

Did you know

- Only once in five away innings this season has Shreyas been dismissed for a score under 50 (vs RCB in Bengaluru).

- CSK have lost four successive games at Chepauk, only for the second time in their history after 2008-10.

What they said

"The way we batted in the last match, even though we didn't get a winning score, it looked more like the way we'd like to play. So, yeah, the more positive intent was there, looking to push the game forward, looking to take the game on a little bit more, but still do it in a smart way. It definitely looked better than some of the previous games where we looked like we were playing with a little bit more fear, looking to not make a mistake, which is not the way we want to play. It's not going to be successful in this competition." - Michael Hussey, CSK batting coach

"I think in terms of our middle order, it can get quite tough in a tournament where the top order is doing so well and their chances are very limited. If we go through the last few games... we are looking at a middle order that hasn't faced that many balls in the last couple of weeks. They're training very well and I'm not going to say I wish the middle order would do more because that means our top order is not doing what they're doing. I think they'll take our top order doing what they're doing and trust that people like Nehal, Glenn, Josh, Shashank, they'll come good and they'll have their moments when required. - James Hopes, PBKS fast bowling coach

Squads:

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

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