CSK bank on home advantage against unbeaten Kolkata

CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad with wicketkeeper MS Dhoni at Chennai recently. Pic/PTI

Defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) would expect a lot more from their top-order as they aim to get their campaign back on track against a power-packed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) here on Monday. Back-to-back defeats would not create panic in the forever calm CSK dressing room, but the management will be keen to fix the flaws going ahead.

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Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and the highly rated Rachin Ravindra need to up their game to provide CSK the start they need in the powerplay. Gaikwad is striking at 118.91, while Ravindra will be itching to make an impact after not doing much in the previous two games.

CSK's leading run scorer has been Shivam Dube who has tallied 148 runs at an impressive strike rate of 160.86.

It remains to be seen if the young Sameer Rizwi is brought back into the team. The 20-year-old uncapped batter displayed promising intent in his six-ball 14 versus Gujarat Titans but a duck against Delhi Capitals in the subsequent game led to him being dropped against SRH.

Pacers Mustafizur Rahman and Matheesha Pathirana missed the last game due to different reasons, exposing the chinks in CSK's bowling. If they remain unavailable for the KKR game, CSK will need to think out of the box to make up for their absence.

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