IPL 2026 | Match 22: CSK vs KKR | Preview and Predictions

Two multiple Indian Premier League (IPL) champions, two of the most iconic franchises and also two teams struggling to find some form in the ongoing season of the IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) heads to Chennai in search of their first win of the IPL 2026 season. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) like KKR have also had a troublesome start to the season and after picking up their first win of the season against Delhi Capitals in their last game, the hosts will look to continue on their winning ways to make it back-to-back wins. 

Here is the preview and prediction for match 22 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 between the Chennai Super Kings and the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Indian Premier League 2026 | Match 22: Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders | 19:30 IST, April 14th

The Knight Riders objectively look like the most unbalanced team in the IPL 2026. Injuries to bowlers plus struggling form for their batters means that Ajinkya Rahane’s team are yet to find their best combination and on top of that, their batting unit, which is expected to do the heavy-lifting, has not yet clicked. Finn Allen has not managed to survive beyond the Powerplay while teams have figured that spin is Ajinkya Rahane’s biggest weakness early on to stop him. Angkrish Raghuvanshi has been the standout batter for KKR but Raghuvanshi is someone who takes his time to get going, which might not always be the ideal situation. Cameron Green finally found some runs in the last game but was unable to get going against spin and teams would’ve taken note of that while KKR’s lower order of Rinku Singh and Ramandeep Singh are yet to find form. Rovman Powell’s lower order hitting will be a positive for KKR. 

With the ball, outside Sunil Narine, KKR have nothing to show for nor anything that would trouble any batting side. A seam attack consisting of Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi and Navdeep Saini was taken to the cleaners by Lucknow Super Giants and KKR opting to play Powell in place of Blessing Muzarabani means that they have to go all in on the Indian inexperienced seam attack. Spin remains the only way out for KKR with Narine being at his wily best like always while KKR have found a handy option in Ankul Roy. Varun Chakravarthy has missed the last two games due to a hand injury and it is not clear whether he will return or not for the Chennai game, which would be his home game. Chakravarthy though has been travelling a bit, been extremely expensive and is yet to take a wicket this season, which will be a big cause of concern for the KKR camp. With Finn Allen struggling, KKR do have an option to bring in Rachin Ravindra, who is another spin option for the team and more than handy with the bat at the top of the order. Given the general nature of the Chepauk wicket, Ravindra could be an option to look at for the KKR camp.

Like KKR, Chennai are another team struggling to find form and points this season in the IPL. With their talisman MS Dhoni yet to join the team due to an injury, the team has looked lost at times on the field under captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. After a string of low scores,  Chennai’s new signing Sanju Samson finally got some runs in their previous game against Delhi Capitals, putting up the first century of IPL 2026. While Samson found some runs along with Ayush Mhatre, their captain Ruturaj Gaikwad’s form with the bat will be a worry for the hosts. With Dewald Brevis returning to the team for the last game, the batting unit looked a little more balanced and players seemed like they were batting in their correct positions. Sarfaraz Khan has had small impressive cameos and the management will hope he converts them into a big score while Shivam Dube does what he does best as a finisher. The bowling has been CSK’s biggest issue this season with Chennai coming into the season with a relatively inexperienced attack.

With Spencer Johnson injured, Chennai has had to rely on Matt Henry as the overseas bowler but Henry has been incredibly expensive. Amongst the Indian seamers, Khaleel Ahmed and Anshul Kamboj have been the ones amongst the wickets and relatively inexpensive compared to Henry. Jamie Overton has been Chennai’s go-to man for the breakthroughs with Noor Ahmad, their main spinner also having a horrid start to the IPL 2026 season. Shivam Dube has been a handy option for Gaikwad but Chennai need their batters to bail them out given how thin their bowling looks.

There have been two games at the Chepauk so far with both being high-scoring encounters where the ball has traveled far. There doesn’t seem much in the pitch for the quicks but the spinners and slower bowlers might find some grip although we should be in for a high-scoring game. Both teams are struggling to find form with KKR yet to get a win on the board and given their current form and struggles to even find their best combination, it will be the hosts CSK starting as the favourites in what should be a close game, given the struggles of both the teams.

Fantasy XI: Sanju Samson (wk), Ajinkya Rahane, Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Cameron Green, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Sunil Narine ©, Vaibhav Arora, Noor Ahmad

Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai

Winners Prediction: Chennai Super Kings