3 player battles to watch out for in CSK vs RR, Match 60 of IPL 2024 ft. Shivam Dube vs Ravichandran Ashwin
The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will host the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their final home contest of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign on Sunday, May 12. The defending champions find themselves in a must-win situation, while the Sanju Samson-led side also need a win to secure a berth in the knockout phase.
CSK, struggling for consistency and having lost two out of their last three home matches, come into the contest after a demoralizing loss to the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad. An injury-ravaged bowling attack and out-of-form batting unit mean that CSK will have to put up a special performance to topple the well-oiled machine that is Rajasthan Royals (RR).
The visiting side are on the back of consecutive defeats, but the margins of those losses have not been significant by any means. They will be hoping that Dhruv Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer recover from their respective niggles to wrap up their quest for the playoffs and potentially even seal a top-two spot.
On that note, let us take a look at three player battles to look out for in CSK vs RR IPL 2024 clash.
#1 Ruturaj Gaikwad vs Trent Boult
The CSK skipper was dismissed by left-arm pacers particularly in the first half of the season, where he struggled for runs for a while. However, Gaikwad has turned around his campaign with the bat, and despite a duck in his last outing, will be on the lookout for runs.
The opening batter's primary challenge will be up against Trent Boult. Although there will not be too much swing expected in a day encounter at the Chepauk, the left-arm seamer will still pose a threat with the new ball.
Trent Boult has absolutely dominated Gaikwad in the past as well. The New Zealand pacer has dismissed the opening batter thrice in their four meetings against each other. Furthermore, he has restricted the batter to just 22 runs off 24 deliveries at a strike rate of 91.66.
#2 Shivam Dube vs Ravichandran Ashwin
Shivam Dube against the spinners will be a talking point that will never cease to subside. However, the prospect of a veteran Ashwin squaring up against a rampant Dube is tantalizing, to say the least.
The senior off-spinner will be looking forward to the challenge to take on the in-form brute hitter, especially in familiar territory. Although he comes as part of the away team, there are hardly any players more familiar with the Chepauk pitch, despite how it has changed in recent years.
Ashwin has had a largely forgettable season, picking up only two wickets from his first nine matches at an economy rate of 9. However, he recently put up a spell of 3-24 in RR's narrow loss to DC in a high-scoring encounter.
Dube has had the better of Ashwin in previous outings though. The left-handed batter has scored 28 runs off 17 balls at a strike rate of 164.70 across four innings, while losing his wicket on one occasion.
#3 Sanju Samson vs Ravindra Jadeja
Sanju Samson's dominance against spinners has played a huge role in his prolific campaign. The right-handed batter has been near-invincible in the middle overs, and even an out-of-sort Ravindra Jadeja will be a challenging prospect to deal with.
Jadeja has often struggled with dew or has not been able to come into the attack because of it. In the sole day encounter that CSK have played this season, the left-arm spinner returned figures of 3-20, and he will prove to be CSK's trump card yet again with the rest of the bowling attack largely being makeshift options.
Samson has scored 73 runs off 52 deliveries at a strike rate of 140.38 across 10 outings against Jadeja in the past. The left-arm spinner has also had a certain say in the matchup by dismissing the wicket-keeper batter thrice, including last season at the Chepauk.