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The start of the much-awaited Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 is just a night's sleep away. While there has been a lot of excitement among the fans in the buildup to the competition, with a little over 24 hours remaining for the start of the tournament opener between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders, the prediction game among the fans have already started.
So here is Team SportsTiger also joining in the festivity and making some predictions related to the curtain-raiser of the tournament based on a few statistical assumptions.
1. Toss
While toss is not in anyone's hand, the recent toss luck hasn't been in either of these sides' favour. While CSK have won just 1 out of the last 5 tosses, KKR have won 2 out of their last 5 games. So while CSK have a 20% toss winning percentage in their 5 matches, KKR have a 40 per cent record in their recent 5 fixtures. But both teams have a new captain this time, so it would be interesting to see how things pan out. Prediction from out here- KKR likely to win the toss.
2. Win Possibility
Chennai Super Kings have enjoyed a superior overall record against Kolkata Knight Riders. In 25 IPL matches, CSK have won 17 matches with KKR managing a win in the other 8. As far as recent form is concerned, KKR succumbed to three defeats against CSK in IPL 2021. In statistical terms, while CSK have enjoyed a 68 per cent win percentage over KKR, the Knights have only 32 win percentage of the Men in Yellow.
Stat meter indicating that CSK are in with an advantage.
3. Team of the Day
Chennai Super Kings are the team of the day based on statistical evidence. Not only do they have a better win percentage in head-to-head games against this opponent but they even enjoy a 100 per cent winning ratio over them in their last 3 matches. What also works in their favour is that KKR might take a while to get used to a different kind of setup but with CSK it's pretty much the same faces and they know how to go about their job. So CSK players should have more role clarity in this fixture and hence would be in a better position to perform.
4. Powerplay score
The average powerplay score (1st + 2nd inns) in the last 5 games has been 47.2 for the loss of 1.7 wickets. Given this stat and the quality of batters on display on both sides, CSK batters are expected to be around this average mark after the end of 6 overs. Kolkata Knight Riders, given the freedom with which they played last year, can even try and aim anything over 50 with Ajinkya Rahane taking the anchor role and Venkatesh Iyer taking the attack to the opposition followed by Nitish Rana.
5. First innings & Second innings scores
The average first innings score at this venue in the last five matches is 181.8. So expect a score in the range of 180 in this game too. Moreover, while teams generally tend to bowl first at this venue, in the last 5 matches, the team batting first has won 3 matches while the side batting second has won 2. The average score batting second at this venue in the last 5 games is 156.4 , so anything about 160 could be a competitive game but teams would look to eye the 180+ mark if batting first.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the author’s point of view. They neither reflect the opinion of SportsTiger nor advise anyone to make any prediction based on this. SportsTiger does not assume any responsibility and liability for the same.