Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will clash with the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the seventh game of the current Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 in the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday, April 3. The five time champions will be eager to get back into winning ways after losing the first game by seven wickets in a one-sided match against the Rajasthan Royals (RR). The side led by the Ruturaj Gaikwad will attempt to reconcile with the batting unit that failed miserably against the Royalties as they were bundled out of the game at 127 in 19.4 overs.
The Punjab Kings led by Shreyas Iyer will, on the contrary, seek to sustain their positive momentum since they defeated the Gujarat Titans (GT) by three wickets in their first match of the season. Nevertheless, the batting unit will appear to be clinical following a middle-order collapse in the last game.
In this article, we consider three batters that will most probably perform big in the CSK vs PBKS IPL 2026 game:
1. Shreyas Iyer
The skipper of PBKS, Shreyas Iyer will be aiming to get back to his form after scoring only 18 (11) in their IPL 2026 opener against GT. The right-handed batsman is at a favorable record with CSK, having torn 72 (41) at Chepauk Stadium alone in the previous season. In general, he has 163 in 5 innings with a strike rate of 135.04 including 44 off 31.
It is worth mentioning that Iyer scored 604 runs in 17 games with a strike rate of 175.07 and six fifties last year. In total, he has 6,596 T20s runs in 241 games, including three tons and 43 half-centuries. The 31-year-old has played 51 T20Is, 76 ODIs, and 14 Tests on behalf of India. He will cash in his ten years of experience in the IPL and subdue a poor CSK bowling that depended on Matt Henry and Noor Ahmad in the first match with RR.
2. Priyansh Arya
PBKS opener Priyansh Arya had a maiden IPL 2025 last year. The left-hand batter scored 475 runs in 17 innings at an incredible overall strike rate of 179.24, with one ton and two fifties. Last season, the 24 year old hit 103 of his runs off 42 balls against the super kings. He had nine sixes and seven boundaries in his innings. The ability to confuse the rivals during the power play will make the youngster eager to deliver another impressive performance against CSK.
Arya had a good Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) experience last year with 197 runs in seven innings and a strike rate of 155.11 with one fifty. He was next in 344 runs during the eight games with four half-centuries in the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy.
3. Ruturaj Gaikwad
Ruturaj Gaikwad is a CSK captain who has a glittering record at the MA Chidambaram stadium during the IPL. The right-hand batter has hit 764 runs in the 18 innings with a strike rate of 141.74, one hundred and six fifties. His record against PBKS in T20 league is also decent, having scored 242 runs in nine innings, including two half-centuries.
Gaikwad made a comeback to CSK with the bat and was ruled out on account of injury halfway through the season last year. The 29 year old pitched six runs out of 11 balls against the Royals. Now he will seek to silence the critics using the bat at the home ground of CSK. The Maharashtra-born batter has 5,008 runs in 152 matches in T20s, including six tons and 35 half-centuries.
