Chennai boy Ravichandran Ashwin has always been known for having a good cricketing brain. Though he never got to lead the Indian team on the international stage, the off-spinner has been keen on proving a point on the leadership front at Kings XI Punjab.

And Ashwin will get a chance to earn bragging rights against the Captain Cool Mahendra Singh Dhoni when his side lock horn against the defending champions on the latter’s home turf in an IPL league game on Sunday.

Dhoni and Ashwin are a complete contrast when it comes to their leadership style.

While the former India skipper is known for his ability to stay calm and keep his cool even in the trickiest of situations, Ashwin is aggressive and isn’t afraid of out-of-the-box decision making like he did while Mankading Jos Buttler earlier in the tournament.

The talking point ahead of the match between the two teams, which have won three games each, is obviously the wicket and how it will play in the afternoon heat.

The two previous matches at MA Chidambaram stadium have produced contrasting performances. While Royal Challengers Bangalore were shot out for 70, Rajasthan Royals made CSK sweat before going down by eight runs on a better surface for the batters.

The spin-heavy CSK will now be up against KXIP, which also have quality spinners in their line-up with Ashwin himself at the forefront apart from Mujeeb Ur Rahman, leggie M Ashwin and mystery bowler C V Varun.

The home team’s bowlers will also be wary of Chris Gayle’s power-hitting provided he plays after missing the game against Delhi Capitals on April 1.

With Gayle sitting out in their last match, KXIP showed it is not about the hard-hitting West Indian alone as KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal put their hands up. And Punjab would hope that they continue to shine.

CSK has relied on team effort to win their matches as different players have delivered the goods in the IPL so far. The defending champions suffered their first defeat at the hands of Mumbai Indians in their last match after three straight wins, and they would hoping to get back to winning ways as they return to their ‘den’.

The only worry for them would be the form of opener Ambati Rayudu, who has struggled to get going after last year’s success, perhaps creating a chance for Murali Vijay to stake his claim for an openers spot.

The hosts would also miss the services of all-rounder Dwayne Bravo after he suffered a hamstring injury against Mumbai. His absence could open up a spot for New Zealand pacer Scott Kuggeleijn.

Dhoni will expect his bowlers to step up after the Mumbai batsmen went on the rampage during Wednesday’s match.

In fact, CSK may opt for an extra spinner in place of either Mohit Sharma or Shardul Thakur.

KXIP skipper Ashwin, who was part of CSK before the franchise let him go, would be looking to put his best foot forward against his former team.

Data Check

The form of Ambati Rayudu has been the biggest concern for CSK. The Hyderabad-born batsman has a highest score of 28 and that has meant that the defending champions haven’t really got off to a flying start this season.

In the 19 matches, CSK and KXIP faced each other, Chennai has won 11 while the visitors have 8.

The Teams (from):

Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (captain & WK), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Murali Vijay, Kedar Jadhav, Sam Billings, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Shorey, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Rituraj Gaikwad, Dwayne Bravo, Karn Sharma, Imran Tahir, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Sharma, K M Asif, Deepak Chahar, N Jagadeesan (wk), Scott Kuggeleign.

Kings XI Punjab: Ravichandran Ashwin (capt), Chris Gayle, Lokesh Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Mayank Agrawal, Karun Nair, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, David Miller, Sam Curran, Varun Chakaravarthy, Nicholas Pooran, Moises Henriques, Hardus Viljoen, Darshan Nalkande, Sarfaraz Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Agnivesh Ayachi, Harpreet Brar, Murugan Ashwin, Andrew Tye, Ankit Rajpoot, Mandeep Singh, Simran Singh.

Match starts at 4 pm (IST).