Preview KKR vs CSK IPL 2021, Match 15, April 21st, Wankhede Stadium. KKR vs CSK head to head player stats and records. Team news and match predictions KKR vs CSK.
Key match stats KKR vs CSK preview
Venue Stats – Wankhede Stadium
- Average first innings: 167
- Average first innings winning score: 173
- Average powerplay score: 46
- All-time win % batting 1st vs batting 2nd: 47% / 52%
Find full venue stats and records here
Team form KKR vs CSK preview
- KKR – LLW
- CSK – WWL
- Previous meetings: IPL 2020, KKR won by 10 runs, CSK won by 6 wickets
IPL 2021 KKR vs CSK preview
As we preview KKR vs CSK in IPL 2021 it’s tempting to dream of a finish like the one we saw the last time these 2 sides met. In that match Ravi Jadeja smashed 2 sixes of the final 2 balls to hand CSK a thrilling win, could we see something similar here again?
KKR are certainly in need of a victory. After a good start to the IPL 2021 campaign they have come undone against a couple of very good sides in MI and RCB. Their strength has been in the powerplay with both bat and ball. KKR are scoring at a run rate just a shade under 8.5 in the powerplay, the 2nd best rate so far and the best of any team who played their first 3 games on the slower decks of Chennai. Nitish Rana is in great form and he is receiving support from Shubman Gill and Rahul Tripathi enabling the Knight Riders to get off to fast starts.
Then with ball in hand, they also have the 2nd best economy rate during the powerplay, thanks in general to their spinners who have been asked to do the lions share of bowling in the first 6 overs.
So far however, things have unravelled towards the back end of the innings which in part is due to the problems that almost everyone (expect for AB de Villiers) has found scoring late on at the MA Chidambaram Stadium but is also symptomatic of a middle order of Morgan, Karthik and Russell that is yet to fire. Moving onto the Wankhede, we see sides scoring an average of 65 runs during the final 5 overs so KKR will need to significantly improve upon their current returns in that department if they are to break their losing streak.
In almost complete contrast, CSK have by far the lowest run rate in the powerplay. Gaikwand in particular looks woefully short of form and while Faf du Plessis did manage a short cameo in their last outing it has generally been left to CSK’s middle order to accelerate their scoring after the completition of the first 6 overs.
During the death overs (last 5) CSK have really come into their own both with bat and ball as the graphics below demonstrate.
Full powerplay and death overs stats for IPL 2021 to date can be found on the links.
All in all then, this should be a fascinating game with both sides looking to dominate during different periods and KKR having to come to terms with an entirely different surface.
KKR vs CSK head to head player stats
KKR bowling vs CSK batting
We wait to see how KKR might alter both their bowling attack and the way that they’ve been deployed. We could well see one of the young Indian quicks in Nagarkoti or Shivam Mavi replace Harbajhan Singh in the starting XI while Pat Cummins is more likely to play his part in the powerplay in these favourable conditions.
In regards match-ups, much has been made in recent games about Suresh Raina’s discomfort against the short-ball which of course is hardly news. However, Andre Russel, who is certainly the kind of bowler who could upset Raina, does have a favourable record against the left-hander and on these bouncier pitches we may see Dre employed for more than just for a couple of overs at the end of an innings.
CSK bowling vs KKR batting
Perhaps the most worrying stat of this preview for KKR as they switch over to playing at the Wankhede this week is that none of their batsmen have a particularly good record here. Top scorer Nitish Rana is the best of them with a career average of 29 batting in Mumbai but a few other significant players have struggled here in the past.
| Batsman | Batting average | Strike Rate |
| Shubman Gill | 8.0 | 76.19 |
| A Russell | 8.25 | 106.45 |
| R Tripathi | 15.33 | 131.43 |
One player who has been rolling back the years for CSK and who has proved a very effective bowler at the death in IPL 2021 is Dwayne Bravo. His mixture of slower balls have been going at 8.17 an over at the death which is impressive when you consider that the run rate at the Wankhede as a whole this tournament during the final 5 has been close to 13 run an over. In this match however, he comes up against international colleague Andre Russell who has dished out some punishment to him in the past.
All IPL player head to head records can be found here
