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Chennai Super Kings
Punjab Kings
Chennai Super Kings will take on Punjab Kings in the 7th match of the Indian Premier League 2026 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. This match will be important for CSK, as they look to bounce back from a poor start. PBKS will aim to build momentum after winning the opening match.
CSK will come into this game after a low-scoring outing against RR, where they only managed a total in the 120s. Their batting will need improvement as they failed to put pressure on the opposition. PBKS will look more settled with a strong top order consisting of Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya and Shreyas Iyer, which will give them an edge in the powerplay.
PBKS will also have a strong recent record in this matchup. They will have won 4 of the last 5 games against CSK, including 3 successful chases. This trend will give PBKS confidence going into this fixture.
Punjab Kingsβ settled top three will face a CSK attack that lacked wicket-taking impact in the first game, increasing the chances of a PBKS batter playing the biggest innings in this match.
The betting tip is...
Top Batterβs Team - Punjab Kings
64 %
36 %
Chennai Super KingsPunjab KingsCSK opened with Sanju Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad, while Ayush Mhatre moved to number three after opening last season. Matt Short batted at number four. The top four batters got out in single digits, which put the team under pressure early. Sarfaraz Khan came in as an impact substitute and scored 17 off 12 balls.
Kartik Sharma added 18 runs from 15 balls. Jamie Overton played the key innings and scored 43 off 36 balls, which helped the team cross the 120-run mark.
While bowling, Anshul Kamboj picked up 2 wickets. The rest of the bowling unit did not get support from the total on the board. Matt Henry, Khaleel Ahmed and Noor Ahmad remained wicketless in that match.
Samson, Gaikwad and Dube are the key batters.
Predicted Lineup: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ayush Mhatre, Matt Short, Shivam Dube, Kartik Sharma, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Matt Henry, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed
PBKS will miss the services of Lockie Ferguson in the initial matches of the season. The opening pair of Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya will be in focus, with both players scoring 400+ runs last IPL season. Priyansh played as an impact sub in the first match, while Iyer will aim to lead from the front this year as well.
The top three batters will form the core of the batting unit. Cooper Connolly played number three in the last match and scored 72* off 44. Marcus Stoinis and Owen/ Omarzai add balance with their all-round abilities, contributing with both pace and spin options. Marco Jansen led the pace attack and also provided quick runs in the lower order.
Harpreet Brar served as the additional spin option and was used as an impact substitute. The team management had a selection choice between Azmatullah Omarzai and Mitchell Owen.
Prabhsimran, Connolly and Iyer are the key batters.
Predicted Lineup: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
Chennai Super Kings will enter this match with concerns around their batting after a poor first outing. Their top order struggled, and the opening combination still looks unsettled, which will put pressure on the middle order again. They will need to decide on their opening combination. Who opens with Samson, Mhatre or Gaikwad.
Punjab Kings will look more stable with their top-heavy batting unit. Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya scored 400+ runs last season and will look to attack early. Shreyas Iyer also showed strong form last year with impactful innings.
With PBKS having a more settled and in-form top order, they are likely to produce the leading run-scorer in this match and stay ahead in key batting moments.
