Kolkata Knight Riders, still seeking their inaugural victory in IPL 2026, gained a significant boost with the comeback of Varun Chakravarthy. The spinner returned after missing two games due to a finger injury, replacing Navdeep Saini in the playing XI. Anukul Roy retained his spot as KKR opted for a bowling-heavy lineup.
Winning the toss, KKR elected to chase, anticipating dew to influence the night match conditions. Meanwhile, the hosts Chennai Super Kings, who have secured only one win in four matches, entered the contest on the back of Sanju Samson’s match-winning century against Delhi Capitals in their previous game.
Although CSK would have preferred to field first, the Chepauk pitch has recently favored teams defending totals, with variable bounce noted during the World Cup earlier this year. The Super Kings maintained an unchanged XI, with potential Impact Player options including Akeal Hosein and Matt Henry. On the other hand, KKR are expected to deploy Finn Allen as their Impact Player.
The Chennai Super Kings lineup featured Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Sarfaraz Khan, Jamie Overton, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, and Gurjapneet Singh. Their bench included Matthew Short, Akeal Hosein, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, and Matt Henry.
Kolkata Knight Riders fielded Ajinkya Rahane as captain, Angkrish Raghuvanshi as wicketkeeper, alongside Cameron Green, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Ramandeep Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakravarthy, Kartik Tyagi, and Vaibhav Arora. Their reserves comprised Manish Pandey, Finn Allen, Tejasvi Singh, Navdeep Saini, and Tim Seifert.
