<a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/ipl-2026-ravindra-jadeja-speaks-about-his-exit-from-chennai-super-kings-23623486" rel="nofollow">Chennai Super Kings</a> will need to improve significantly in all departments of the game to trouble a potent Punjab Kings in their first home game of the Indian Premier League here on Friday.
It was a uninspiring start for CSK in their opener against Rajasthan Royals.
CSK, now a team full of youngsters, did not get anything right in Guwahati and would simply like to leave that comprehensive defeat behind in a long tournament like the IPL.&nbsp;
While the injured <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/ipl-2026-ms-dhoni-to-miss-first-two-weeks-of-season-due-to-calf-strain-23623038" rel="nofollow">MS Dhoni</a> did not travel to Guwahati, he could be back in the dugout as a sounding board to captain Ruturaj Gaikwad while he continues to nurse a calf strain.&nbsp;
Sanju Samson, their biggest signing for the season, did not last long on his CSK debut and would be looking to make a big impact in front of home fans. Samson scored six off 11 deliveries against his former franchise RR at a strike-rate of 85.71.&nbsp;
The explosive opener, who was at the forefront of India&rsquo;s recent T20 World Cup triumph with three impactful knocks at the fag end of the tournament (97* vs WI, 89 vs England, 89 vs NZ), will look to find his rhythm against <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/ipl-2026-pbks-survive-a-scare-to-beat-gujarat-titans-by-3-wickets-23623530" rel="nofollow">PBKS</a>.&nbsp;
On the bowling front, the likes of Matt Henry and Noor Ahmad were made to look ordinary by the sheer belligerence of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. They would be itching to bounce back from that pasting.
CSK take on last year&rsquo;s finalists PBKS, who have become a formidable unit in the Shreyas Iyer-Ricky Ponting era. PBKS have found an able No. 3 in Cooper Connolly who anchored a tense chase against Gujarat Titans on Tuesday night.
Rs 18 cr CSK&rsquo;s signing amount for Sanju Samson
85.71 Samson&rsquo;s strike-rate in his CSK debut against RR
Six No. of runs scored by Sanju Samson against RR
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