Chennai Super Kings (CSK) They will return to their 'den' when they take on Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Match 7 of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday, April 03. The hosts will be looking for their first win of the new season.
CSK came into the game after suffering a heavy defeat at the hands of Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Guwahati. Batting first, the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led team could score only 127 runs, which RR easily achieved thanks to Vaibhav Suryavanshi's 52 runs in 17 balls.
PBKS, on the other hand, had a winning start to their 2026 IPL campaign. Last year's finalists defeated Gujarat Titans (GT) by three wickets in a thrilling encounter in New Chandigarh. Cooper Connolly was the star of the show with 72 runs from 44 balls.
CSK and both PBKS Played twice last season, Shreyas Iyer's side did double the feat for the five-time champions. This included four wickets against the Chennai team at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Batting first, CSK scored 190 runs on the board thanks to Sam Curran's 88 runs. In reply, PBKS chased down the score with two balls to spare after captain Iyer scored 72 off 41 balls, who was later declared the player of the match.
The iconic stadium in Chepauk will host seven matches in the 2026 T20 World Cup. The pitch was providing support to both bat and ball. However, chasing may still be the preferred decision for the captain who wins the toss.
MA Chidambaram Stadium: Pitch Report
Over the years, the MA Chidambaram Stadium pitch has been renowned for being slow, which brings spinners into play. However, this has not been the case in recent times, with teams posting big scores in the recently concluded T20 World Cup. Dew has also been a factor in Chennai earlier.
The iconic ground was recently renovated. Thus, this will be the first time that an IPL game will be played on the new surface.
IPL stats and records at MA Chidambaram Stadium
| matches played |
91 |
| Matches won by batting first |
51 |
| Matches won while batting second | 40 |
| matches with no results | 00 |
| match tie | 00 |
| Average score of first innings | 164 |
| highest team total | 246 |
| Highest score successfully chased | 201 |
CSK vs PBKS: Strategies and Match-ups
Heading into Friday's game, batting remains the strength for both CSK and PBKS. Despite Chennai's shortcomings against RR, there is enough talent in the yellow team's batting lineup. However, PBKS have maintained a slight edge in terms of bowling. The Punjab-based side has a much more experienced bowling unit thanks to Yuzvendra Chahal, Marco Jansen and Arshdeep Singh.
CSK and PBKS will compete in one of the closest rivalries in IPL history. In their total of 32 meetings, both sides have won 16 times each. However, the two-time finalists have maintained their lead in recent times and have won four of their last five matches.
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