IPL 2026: KKR opt to chase as Chakravarthy returns in crunch clash vs CSK

Kolkata Knight Riders, still searching for their first win of IPL 2026, received a boost with the return of Varun Chakravarthy, who came back after missing two matches due to a finger injury.

The spinner replaced Navdeep Saini in the XI, while Anukul Roy retained his place as KKR opted for a bowling-first combination.

The visitors also won the toss and chose to chase, with dew expected to play a role in the night fixture.

The hosts Chennai Super Kings, who have managed just one win in four matches, came into the game boosted by Sanju Samson’s match-winning century in their previous outing against Delhi Capitals.

Although CSK would have preferred to bowl first, the Chepauk surface has recently favoured teams defending totals, with variable bounce observed during the World Cup earlier this year.

CSK named an unchanged playing XI, with potential Impact Player options including Akeal Hosein and Matt Henry. KKR are expected to use Finn Allen as their Impact Player option.

Chennai Super Kings XI

Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Sarfaraz Khan, Jamie Overton, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Gurjapneet Singh

CSK bench: Matthew Short, Akeal Hosein, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Matt Henry

Kolkata Knight Riders XI

Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Cameron Green, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Ramandeep Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakravarthy, Kartik Tyagi, Vaibhav Arora

KKR bench: Manish Pandey, Finn Allen, Tejasvi Singh, Navdeep Saini, Tim Seifert