Chennai, April 2 – Five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will face last season's finalists, Punjab Kings (PBKS), in Match 7 of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL), to be held at the iconic MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday.
CSK had a disappointing season in IPL 2025, finishing at the bottom of the table, and would have aimed for a fresh start this year. However, their campaign began poorly, with a heavy defeat to the Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati. After being bowled out for just 127 in 19.4 overs, CSK watched as Rajasthan comfortably chased the target in just 12.1 overs, losing only two wickets.
In contrast, Punjab Kings (PBKS) started their season with a hard-fought win against the Gujarat Titans in Mullanpur. Led by Shreyas Iyer, PBKS restricted their opponents to 162/6 on a challenging pitch. Despite a shaky middle-order performance, Punjab managed to cross the finish line in 19.1 overs with three wickets in hand.
Punjab Kings have enjoyed the upper hand in recent meetings between the two sides, winning six of their last seven encounters against CSK. However, the overall head-to-head record remains perfectly balanced, with both teams winning 16 matches each out of 32 played. CSK had claimed victory in their first-ever clash back in April 2008, while PBKS emerged victorious in their most recent meeting in April 2025.
When: Friday, April 3, 7:30 PM IST
Where: M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Where to watch: The CSK vs PBKS match will be broadcast on Star Sports channels, with JioHotstar live-streaming the game.
Squads:
Punjab Kings: Shreyas Iyer (c), Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wicketkeeper), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar, Suryansh Shedge, Vishnu Vinod (wicketkeeper), Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Mitchell Owen, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Pravin Dubey, Vishal Nishad
Chennai Super Kings: Sanju Samson(w), Ayush Mhatre, Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Urvil Patel, Matthew Short, Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matt Henry, Anshul Kamboj, Akeal Hosein, Sarfaraz Khan, MS Dhoni, Dewald Brevis, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Chahar, Spencer Johnson, Mukesh Choudhary, Aman Khan, Gurjapneet Singh, Zakary Foulkes, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer
