It’s time for one of the biggest rivalries in the IPL. It’s the Indian El Clasico between the two of the giants – CSK & KKR. Both these teams have had somewhat very contrasting journeys in the IPL. RCB have started pretty well in this season’s IPL and are sitting at the top of the table occupying the third spot with 6 points from their 4 games so far.
The defending champions CSK however have started off rather unexpectedly with no wins and 4 losses in their 4 games. They are the 10th placed team in the points table. Yes, we are talking about CSK and yes this is true!
But do you know what champions do?
They always find a way to bounce back from any setback and any adversity. And expect them to do the same again! And it seems it will be at RCB’s expense yet again?
We have all the stats to back it up. CSK has always been RCB’s thorn in the IPL and they have a very one-sided record against them. In the 28 games that these two teams have played over the years, CSK has won 18 of those games including that famous IPL final while RCB has managed to win only 9 and 1 game did not bear any result.
So yes, Dhoni and company know what it takes to beat the RCB side and they really need a win to get their campaign up and running. But will they be able to do so?
That remains to be seen.
CSK needs to address a lot of issues. The form of Ruturaj Gaikwad will be worrying everyone in the CSK camp even if it’s early days in the tournament. But everyone knows CSK is a team who do not chop and change much and it is just a matter of time before Gaikwad follows it up with a match-winning knock. CSK need to find their best batting order and also find players in form. The form of Dhoni has been the only plus point in CSK’s campaign so far this year.
CSK vs RCB Pitch Report
This crucial game will be played at the Wankhede Stadium and you can expect a run feast. There is a tinge of grass on the wicket and it is quite fast-paced. It should assist the bowlers but will also have a lot of bounce and good carry to the wicketkeeper. The fast bowlers will enjoy bowling on this kind of wicket. Batting on this surface will be also very rewarding with good value for shots. This should be a good high scoring game and the captain winning the toss might look to bowl first.
Probable Playing XIs for Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
Chennai Super Kings
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Robin Uthappa, Shivam Dube, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Dwayne Bravo, Rajvardhan Hangarker, Chris Jordan, Mahesh Theekshana
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Faf du Plessis, Anuj Rawat, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik, Shahbaz Ahmed, David Willey, Wanindu Hasaranga, Siddarth Kaul, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj
