CSK vs PBKS IPL 2026 Preview: Will Dewald Brevis return help Chennai Super Kings bounce back against Shreyas Iyer’s Punjab Kings?

Chennai Super Kings will face Punjab Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday (3 April) as they try to recover from a heavy opening defeat in IPL 2026.

CSK were bowled out for just 127 and lost by eight wickets to Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati earlier this week. The most disappointing part was that they batted first without MS Dhoni, who missed the game due to a calf strain.

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Team news for CSK

MS Dhoni will miss the second match as well due to the calf injury. However, Dewald Brevis is expected to return after recovering from a side strain. CSK will also be hoping for big contributions from Sanju Samson, who starred for India in the T20 World Cup 2026, and captain Ruturaj Gaikwad.

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Punjab Kings in good form

Punjab Kings, who reached the final last season, started IPL 2026 with a three-wicket win over Gujarat Titans at Mullanpur. They will be confident heading into the match against CSK.

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Weather and Pitch report in Chennai

There is no chance of rain according to AccuWeather. Temperatures will be around 30°C with hot and humid conditions. Some cloud cover may be present at the start of the match.

Dew can play a big role at Chepauk in the second innings, so the team winning the toss is likely to field first.

The pitch at MA Chidambaram Stadium is expected to be good for batting. India scored 256/4 on the same pitch during the T20 World Cup 2026. Pacers usually find it difficult here, and that trend is likely to continue.

How to watch CSK vs PBKS live

The match will be broadcast live on Star Sports channels. Live streaming will be available on the JioHotstar app and website.

Predicted Playing XIs

Chennai Super Kings: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Kartik Sharma, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Matt Henry, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed.

Impact Sub: Rahul Chahar

Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Impact Sub: Priyansh Arya

Both teams full squad for IPL 2026

PBKS squad: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Ben Dwarshuis, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Lockie Ferguson, Vishnu Vinod, Praveen Dubey, Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Nehal Wadhera, Harpreet Brar, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash, Vishal Nishad

CSK squad: Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Sarfaraz Khan, Kartik Sharma, MS Dhoni, Sanju Samson(wk), Urvil Patel, Aman Khan, Anshul Kamboj, Jamie Overton, Matthew Short, Prashant Veer, Shivam Dube, Zak Foulkes, Akeal Hosein, Gurjapneet Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Matt Henry, Mukesh Choudhary, Spencer Johnson, Noor Ahmad, Rahul Chahar, Ramkrishna Ghosh, Shreyas Gopal