Match Preview: CSK vs Royals should be a good contest
Date: Saturday, April 21
Venue: M.A. Chidambaram stadium, Chennai
Time: 1600 (1030 GMT)
Chennai Super Kings will be confident coming into this match after their win against Pune Warriors. The nature of the victory, where they held their nerves till the end in the crunch encounter, must have done a world of good to their morale.
Super Kings have now done it twice in a row, the last time they pulled out a win from an improbable situation against Bangalore. After tottering at the bottom of the table, the side has risen up to be noticed and would be expected to take it ahead from here.
Their opponents, Rajasthan Royals who as usual had started as underdogs are now placed second in the table, ahead of the much-hyped favourites.
Royals seem habitual of making the most of their limited resources have done it again this time. Ajinkya Rahane who has 304 runs from his six innings, Owais Shah, Siddharth Trivedi and others are living proof.
If we go by their medium pacer Trivedi’s words, this Rajasthan team is their “strongest team in all five seasons.”
Players to watch out for:
Rajasthan Royals
Ajinkya Rahane- He is clearly the best batsman in the IPL so far. His scores read 98, 0, 40, 19, 103* and 44 after five games — stars ahead of his contemporaries. A prolific performer in the Indian domestic circuit, Rahane would want to use this season to stake his claim for the spot in the national team left vacant by the retirement of Rahul Dravid.
Owais Shah- The England veteran has notched up 216 runs from his six matches this season. His caliber being never in doubt, Shah’s consistent performance gives us the hope that finally, maybe, he has reached the mental level of an international cricketer.
Kevon Cooper- The West Indian all-rounder has come a long way to be in our consciousness as he is now. From the days when his action was put under the scanner, he has worked hard to be one of the top wicket-takers in the ongoing season of IPL. Cooper has 8 wickets from his three games — 7 from the first two. Also a promising batsman down the order, Royals would be expected him to do what Pollard or Bravo have done in past for the Mumbai Indians.
Chennai Super Kings
Faf du Plessis- The South African player has been God’s gift to the otherwise ailing Chennai batting line-up. He has 229 runs from his six matches so far and provides the much-needed tempo at the top of the order. With Vijay being swapped for Badrinath as his opening partner, CSK’s opening duo stand in complete contrast, and if one follow the old model of cricket this is a perfect combination.
Suresh Raina – Raina hasn’t fired yet, but that doesn’t mean he won’t. Arguably, the most consistent batsman of IPL, one good innings and he will be back on track. There have been starts like in the first match against Mumbai, but he needs to be steady.
Nuwan Kulasekara- I somehow feel this lad went completely unnoticed in the last match. The Srilankan bowled beautifully albeit against a poor batting line-up. But those who know him, must be knowing how useful his bowling can be.
Head-to-Head
Royals had lost both their matches against Chennai in the previous edition. In fact, CSK have won all of their last six matches this opponent.
Prediction
In a likely close encounter we don’t see a clear winner. Rajasthan Royals on current form should be rated ahead.