CSK look to continue winning run

Chennai Super Kings will look to continue their winning run when they lock horns with Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League (IPL) here on Saturday.

After opening their campaign with a stunning win over Mumbai in the tournament opener, Chennai pulled off yet another thrilling chase to beat Kolkata Knight Riders.

The likes of Dwayne Bravo and Sam Billings are in red-hot form for the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led team.

CSK have enough depth in their batting line-up with the likes of Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu, Billings and Bravo, all capable of delivering the goods when it matters.

The spin trio of Harbhajan Singh, Jadeja and Imran Tahir can be a potent force as they are complemented by Deepak Chahar, Watson and Shardul Thakur.

On the other hand, Punjab are coming into the match after Thursday's loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Punjab had started the season on a resounding note, beating Delhi Daredevils by six wickets.

Local player KL Rahul, who fashioned the victory with the fastest-ever fifty in IPL, justified why the franchise spent Rs 11 crore for him.

Rahul smashed a 30-ball 47 against RCB and had Punjab not lost wickets in quick succession, they could have notched up a bigger total than the 155, they scored while batting first.

A cause of concern for Punjab is the form of their top batsman Yuvraj Singh, who has made 12 and four in the two games while in the bowling department, Mohit Sharma looked off-colour against RCB.

Ashwin has been in good form with his bowling and has contributed with the bat as well.

Playing his maiden innings as a captain, Ashwin has also been marshalling his men nicely.

Among batsmen, expectations were high from Aaron Finch, who was unavailable for the opening match but failed with the bat against RCB.

Punjab's bowlers are doing a fine job with 17-year-old spinner Mujeeb-ur-Rahman surprising the batsmen with his unconventional deliveries. He was even rewarded with the prize wicket of RCB skipper Virat Kohli.

Apart from Ashwin, Mohit, Mujeeb, Axar Patel and Andrew Tye add depth to Punjab's bowling attack.