Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Chennai Super Kings Prediction

Kolkata Knight Riders led by Gautam Gambhir defeated the heavy weights of the Indian Premier League, 2014, Kings XI Punjab, in the final. The latter secured top place in the pool by securing 22 points from 14 matches whereas the first succeeded in accumulating 18 out of 14 they played. Chennai Super Kings was the other formidable team which grabbed 18 points from the allotted 14 encounters and they will take over KKR in the opening game of the 2014 Champions League Twenty20. Both teams are equipped with quality players and it will be a nice beginning of a great tournament.

Players to watch

Robin Uthappa was the highest run getter of the IPL 2014 and will be the centre of attraction in the forthcoming event. Manish Pandey, Gautam Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan are the front line batsmen of KKR. Sunil Narine was the second top wicket taker in the above tournament while Piyush Chawla, Morne Morkel and Umesh Yadev are capable of defending their scores.

MS Dhoni always leads his side from the front and rescues them with a classic batting as and when required. Faf du Plessis powered three centuries in the recently concluded Zimbabwe Triangular Series, 2014, and was declared ‘Player of the series’ for his outstanding batting. Dwayne Smith, Suresh Raina and Brendon McCullum are the pillars of their batting. Mohit Sharma was the supreme bowler of the IPL 2014, with 23 wickets, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ashish Nehra form a match winning bowling combination.

Time & Venue

Wednesday, September 17, 2014 @ 14:30 GMT, 20:00 local at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad.

Weather

Prediction of lightening and rain which can disturb the game with temperatures around 22-27ᵒC.

Toss

Most skippers try to chase in the shortest version of the game.

The Pitch

Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad, is the home ground of Sunrisers Hyderabad with a seating capacity of 55,000. The last Twenty20 was played at this venue between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore on May 20, 2014 that was a part of the IPL. The nicely laid down track equally assists batsmen and bowlers according to their capabilities.

Teams

Kolkata Knight Riders – Gautam Gambhir (C), Piyush Chawla, Pat Cummins, Jacques Kallis, Kuldeep Yadav, Morne Morkel, Sunil Narine, Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Andre Russell, Ryan ten Doeschate, Robin Uthappa, Vinay Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav, Umesh Yadav.

Chennai Super Kings – MS Dhoni (C), Ravichandran Ashwin, Samuel Badree, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, John Hastings, Ravindra Jadeja, Brendon McCullum, Mithun Manhas, Pawan Negi, Ashish Nehra, Ishwar Pandey, Suresh Raina, Mohit Sharma, Dwayne Smith.

Prediction

The players of CSK are in good nick and their team will be the favourite to win the match.