"The way MS Dhoni...," Gautam Gambhir discusses the competition between KKR and CSK.

When talking about the IPL competition between the Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders, Gautam Gambhir emphasized the parallels in their respective strategies. 

The Indian Premier League rivalry between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders was mentioned by Kolkata Knight Riders trainer Gautam Gambhir during his Monday interview on his YouTube channel with Ravichandran Ashwin.

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Since 2008, there have been 31 IPL head-to-head matches between the Knight Riders and the Super Kings. Of those matches, CSK has won 19 times compared to KKR's 11 victories. One match has ended in a draw.

The 42-year-old asserted that he thought the approaches taken by the Chennai and Kolkata squads to the game were very similar.

It's not only the size of the competition. It's sure to be an intense and competitive game when two strong teams play each other. On Ashwin's YouTube channel, Gambhir stated, "I always felt that CSK and KKR were very, very similar in the way they approached the game."

The former left-hander continued by saying that the plans on both sides were quite similar.

"We had three excellent spinners as well, and MS Dhoni exploited them superbly. CSK had three excellent spinners, and the circumstances were presumably pretty similar whether they were in Eden or Chepauk at the time. The dimensions of Chepauk were larger than those of Eden as a ground. Our approaches were remarkably similar to one another. For this reason, in order to defeat CSK, KKR needed to perform at the highest level tactically. The former India opener continued, "That's the reason I always felt that CSK and KKR during those times were very very similar teams."

Gambhir returned to the KKR team in November of last year, this time as a mentor. He performed the same function for the Lucknow Super Giants in the 2021 and 2022 Indian Premier League before that. In terms of IPL experience, the southpaw has played for Delhi Capitals and KKR. He won two IPL championships in 2012 and 2014 while serving as captain of the Knight Riders.

Qualifier 1 between KKR and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) takes place on Tuesday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The winner of this match will advance to the final.