IPL 2026 | Match 7: CSK vs PBKS | Preview and Predictions

Match 7 of the 2026 IPL season will be played between the Chennai Super Kings and the Punjab Kings on April 3, 2026, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. 

For the game, here we present our preview and predictions.

Indian Premier League 2026 | Match 7: Chennai Super Kings vs Punjab Kings | 19:30 IST, 3 April 2026

CSK will play their first home game of the season at Chepauk against last season’s finalists. While they started the new season with a defeat against the Rajasthan Royals, PBKS won their first game against the Gujarat Titans.

Playing without their former captain, the experienced MS Dhoni, the CSK batters couldn’t get going against the tight and disciplined Royals bowling unit. They lost too many wickets in the Powerplay and couldn’t quite recover from that early setback. If not for Jamie Overton’s lone effort (43 off 36) down the order, the Super Kings couldn’t have got past a total in the 80–90 range, let alone crossed 120.

In the end, CSK managed to set a target of 127, but it was never going to be enough to defend on a decent Guwahati pitch. Nandre Burger, Jofra Archer, and Ravindra Jadeja bowled superbly for the Royals and ended with two wickets each.

In response, RR reached the total comfortably in 12 overs, with both their openers delivering on the opening day. Young Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored a quickfire half-century, while Yashasvi Jaiswal stayed until the end to ensure victory for his side without much fuss.

All in all, CSK had a bad day at the office, though the RR bowlers deserve a lot of credit for delivering good lines and lengths and not letting the five-time IPL champions get going with the bat at all. With MS Dhoni out for a period of at least two weeks, CSK need Sanju Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad to take up the responsibility of guiding a relatively young team with their experience.

As for their opponents for this game, the Punjab Kings have started the season on a winning note. Playing their opener against the Gujarat Titans on a tricky wicket, they put GT in to bat after winning the toss. Shubman Gill (39 off 27) and Jos Buttler (38 off 33) got the ball rolling, with Glenn Phillips’ late cameo taking the Titans to a competitive 162/6. Vijaykumar Vyshak (3/34) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2/28) bowled well for the Kings.

In response, the top order fired ably for PBKS, with debutant Cooper Connolly (72* off 44) and Prabhsimran Singh (37 off 24) starting well. However, PBKS kept losing wickets, and the chase got a bit tough, though Connolly kept his head and led the team to victory. Prasidh Krishna (3/29) was the pick of the GT bowlers, with others chipping in and playing their part in a hard-fought battle.

Coming to this game, the Chennai pitch is a high-scoring one, but it does get slow in the second innings and assists the spinners. Moreover, given that the PBKS batting unit looks stronger on paper compared to the CSK one, this could be another tough outing for the Yellow Army.

If CSK want to win this, they will need their openers to give them a good start; then, maybe, they could have a decent shot at victory. PBKS have a lengthy batting order capable of chasing big targets with considerable ease.

Looking at the two squads and the form of the players, the Punjab Kings look the better side on paper, and so we favour them for a win here.

Fantasy XI: Sanju Samson (wk), Cooper Connolly, Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer (c), Shivam Dube, Marcus Stoinis, Jamie Overton, Marco Jansen, Yuzvendra Chahal, Noor Ahmad, Arshdeep Singh

Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Winners Prediction: Punjab Kings