IPL Fantasy cricket, CSK vs RR: 5 decisions that can help you score big
It is Match No. 17 of the 2018 IPL season, with Chennai Super Kings playing their first game on their adopted 'home' ground - Pune. In the wake of the Cauvery protests in Tamil Nadu, all of CSK's home games had to be shifted outside Chennai, and the Maharashtra Cricket Association in Pune turned out to be the most feasible alternative.
CSK will be taking on the Rajasthan Royals, with both teams coming in on the back of defeats. There are plenty of problems for MS Dhoni as well as Ajinkya Rahane, not least in the team selection department. With the team lineups uncertain, imagine how difficult it would be to pick a fantasy team today!
But as they say, with great challenges come great opportunities. With so much confusion around the lineups of these two teams, you have the chance to go one-up over your rivals by making smart decisions.
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Today's game should be a batting-friendly one considering Pune has had a short time to prepare for the sudden shift of CSK's home games. They were scheduled to host the playoffs, but those are more than a month away. Looking at the way the wicket played last year, high-scoring matches with good assistance to the spinners should be expected.
To help you in your quest to become the Fantasy King, here are 5 decisions that would make your job easier:
1. If you have to pick a wicket-keeper, pick the man in form
It's Dhoni vs Buttler, basically. Dhoni is a proven match-winner, and Buttler is an amazing finisher. Both play similar roles for their sides currently - as the No. 5 or No. 6 middle order batsman.
Yes, Dhoni is way more expensive than Buttler. But while Buttler usually scores over Dhoni in the strike rate factor, that has not been the case this season. The clinching point for Dhoni over Buttler: Dhoni averages 57.2 runs with a strike rate of 133.5 at Pune in the IPL.
2. Avoid CSK batsmen
Sanju Samson is having an amazing start to this season. He is second in the top run-getters list this season with 185 runs, trailing Virat Kohli by 16 runs.
The highest run-scorer for Chennai, on the other hand, is Ambati Rayudu with 109 runs - and he's lying at the 19th spot. No one batsman has been consistently performing at a high level for CSK; even Sam Billings played well in just one match.
Among Rajasthan batsmen, Rahane has been giving Rajasthan good starts but has failed to convert into big scores. D’Arcy Short has been poor, and Rahul Tripathi has been batting too low down the order. All things considered, Samson seems like the best bet.
3. All-rounders aplenty, but don't bring one in unless you absolutely need to make a sub
Ben Stokes has been under-performing this season, to say the least. He was excellent last year for the now defunct Pune team, but hasn't come anywhere close to replicating that form.
Dwayne Bravo was sensational in the first game, giving us glimpses of what he is capable of with the bat, but he hasn't exactly set the stage alight with his bowling so far. A usually reliable pick, Bravo has been much less so this season.
Ravindra Jadeja has bowled just three overs and his batting has been underwhelming at best, but Dhoni said that he wants to continue playing Jadeja as a finisher. And with their matches being shifted to Pune, expect Jadeja to get more overs. That still doesn't make him a sureshot bet though.
Shane Watson has been opening the innings for CSK, striking at 164.29 but averaging only 27. He is their leading wicket-taker with 5 wickets too. Krishnappa Gowtham has opened the bowling for RR, is their leading wicket-taker, but has been a poor batsman this season.
On current form, it may not be a bad idea to pick Watson for the all-rounder's slot, but it's still a risk that you could possibly do without.
4. This is NOT a match-up to rely on bowlers
Both the teams have seen their bowling unit underperform, to put it mildly. Chennai have taken a total of 16 wickets over 3 matches, while Rajasthan have 12 wickets over 4 matches, which includes the rain-affected 6-over chase by Delhi.
With the match at Pune, expect the Chennai spinners to make an impact, but it's unlikely that any of them will get a bunch of wickets. Jaydev Unadkat, meanwhile, was sensational for the defunct Pune team last year and will be looking forward to playing there again, but his form this year has been abysmal.
Ben Laughlin has been consistent, especially bowling at the death, with 3 wickets to his name in all. But if RR decide to play Jofra Archer, Laughlin is the likeliest to get the axe.
It might be worth taking a punt on Archer, but it would be more advisable to wait and watch how he deals with the pressure of playing in the IPL.
5. Combination conundrums - it might be safer to trust Indian players
With only four slots available for overseas players and most of them being expensive, it will be a difficult task to find the correct composition. Laughlin and Short may be replaced by Klassen and Archer respectively, so picking either of the former two might be dangerous.
Meanwhile, Suresh Raina looked fit while practising in the nets and should slot in for Murali Vijay, with Rayudu back to the opening position with Watson. If you pick Raina, you may not be left with enough money to invest in a foreign star, but Raina would certainly be a safer bet than unknown commodities like Archer and Klaasen.
With regard to the uncapped slot, K Gowtham, Deepak Chahar and Shreyas Gopal are the players worth considering. Gowtham and Gopal should have the edge because of their batting abilities.