Defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) shall be locking horns with table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in a battle to reign supreme at the top of the points table in the ongoing IPL season.

The IPL heavyweights shall take on each other in a high-voltage clash at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai later in the evening, with the match scheduled to commence at 8 pm (IST).

KKR are currently holding the pole position in this season's  points table due to superior net run-rate over CSK. Both the teams have started their campaign well by registering four wins each from their five outings so far and have look very much the part to be serious title contenders.

Head to Head

The IPL powerhouses who have five titles between them have played each other 19 times in the IPL with Chennai having the edge winning 11 of those 19 clashes. CSK have an overwhelming edge over the 'purple brigade' at home, winning six out of the 8 IPL games played on their home turf at Chepauk.

Recent form 

Both teams head into the game at the back of comprehensive wins in their last games. While CSK registered a convincing win over Kings XI Punjab on Saturday, KKR forged a clinical win over Rajasthan Royals in their last encounter at Jaipur.

Battle of Spinners on rank turner in Chepauk

The Chepauk pitch has been considered a spinner's paradise and both teams would relish to unleash their spin heavy bowling armoury to cast a web around the opposition. While CSK have Imran Tahir, Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja in their ranks, KKR have an equally potent spin attack comprising of Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav. So it could come down to which of the batting units can handle spin better on a rank turner at Chepauk.

CSK captain MS Dhoni would definitely have a plan in store to curtail the potential carnage by KKR's in-form power hittter Andre Russell who has played out some game changing cameos down the order.

KKR would be happy with the opening salvo being provided by the deadly pair of Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn at the top of the order. They have their house in order in the middle order with Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana and Shubhman Gill, all being among the runs this season.

CSK bringing in Faf du Plessis in place of the injured Dwayne Bravo in their last game paid off rich dividends with the Proteas scoring a quality knock (54 off 38 balls). Chennai would be hoping that their seasoned  stalwart Suresh Raina who has struck a lean patch returns to some form.

The CSK vs KKR face-off is being dubbed as perhaps one of the most enthralling clashes this season and it will have to be seen whether CSK's 'Captain Cool' MS Dhoni has a devised a match winning strategy to curb the fire and fury of the Knight Riders batting arsenal  with some spin magic at the Chepauk.