On a high after securing three wins on the trot against quality teams, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will lock horns with Rajasthan Royals (RR) on April 27 (Thursday). It will be the second clash between both teams in this IPL season. The Royals who suffered a shocking 7-run defeat in their previous fixture against RCB, RR would like to settle the scores when they take the field against CSK in front of their home fans at Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium in Jaipur. On the other hand, CSK will look for vengeance as the Royals beat the table-toppers in their backyard and also became the only team to achieve the feat this season against four-time winners.
CSK’s top-order trio of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, and Ajinkya Rahane are on fire. CSK openers are among the top 10 leading run-getters of the tournament. With four half-centuries in seven matches, Conway sits at the No.3 position with 314 runs. Gaikwad is seventh with 270 runs. Rahane has been in devastating form, scoring runs with an amazing strike rate of 200. Shivam Dube also contributes a lot with the bat, playing fine cameos. Without any doubt, MS Dhoni will have a great impact and do his finisher role well.
CSK’s only concern will be not to leak more runs in the powerplay overs. Though CSK pacers take wickets early, they concede more runs so that there will be no pressure on their opponents. Spinners Maheesh Theekshana, Ravindra Jadeja, and Moeen Ali are doing their job well in the middle overs. Matheesha Pathirana is turning out to be a great asset for CSK with his superb bowling. The young pacer is expected to deliver well against RR as he did in the previous two matches.
For the Royals to do well, it is imperative that the likes of Jos Butler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and skipper Sanju Samson deliver well at the top. In the last three games, there has been a massive drop in RR’s run rate (11.1 has dropped to 6.7), a substantial decline. The biggest reason behind that has been the increase in dot balls. The Royals’ middle-order batting has to play up to the expectation to give a tough fight for CSK.
RR’s bowling attack looks very good as its pacer Trent Boult picks up early wickets. RR has world-class spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, having bagged a wicket every 17 balls. And they will be a huge threat to CSK batters. A low-scoring thriller is expected as the pitch in Jaipur is slow.
