Match number 35 of the Indian Premier League 2021 will see Royal Challengers Bangalore take on Chennai Super Kings at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah, this Friday. The Chennai franchise will be bullish of their chances currently placed second albeit playing one game less.
Royal Challengers Bangalore who began the season in tremendous form, is undoing all the good work with back-to-back losses. They started the second phase of IPL 2021 with a crushing defeat to Kolkata Knightriders after being restricted to an embarrassing total of 92 and for that reason, Virat Kohli and Co. will have a lot to prove in the coming match.
On the Mark ...💥#WhistlePodu #Yellove 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/zaoT8D0co3
— Chennai Super Kings - Mask P😷du Whistle P🥳du! (@ChennaiIPL) September 23, 2021
Earlier this year, when these two teams met. The Chennai franchise inflicted a heavy loss, beating the Royal Challengers by 69 runs. Ravindra Jadeja was the main architect of this victory as he went to town in the final overs of the match, wreaking havoc amongst the Bangalore bowlers.
Will MS Dhoni and co continue their ascendancy to the top? Or can Kohli and co arrest their slide and claim a victory?
Match Toss Time: 17:30 Local (19:00 IST)
Match Start Time: 18:00 Local (19:30 IST)
Match Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Head to Head
Matches Played: 27, CSK:18, RCB: 9
Weather Conditions and pitch
Team News
RCB suffered a batting collapse in the game against KKR, with none of the batters besides Devdutt Padikkal showing character. With not much of an Indian talent pool to choose from Royal Challengers Bangalore is expected to roll out with the same XI hoping their big-names perform.
Although the middle-order looked bleak, The Chennai camp wouldn't be looking to make any changes to XI against the skippers' wishes. With Sam Curran available, It would be a toss-up between him and Josh Hazlewood. But the ability to hit the big shots does give English all-rounder an edge.
Probable Playing XI
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Virat Kohli (C), Devdutt Padikkal, KS Bharat, AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell, Sachin Baby, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Kyle Jamieson
Chennai Super Kings (CSK): Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, (C) Ambati Rayudu, Sam Curran/ Josh Hazlewood, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Ravindra Jadeja
Must-Picks
Chennai Super King openers Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad are in great touch and form the strongest core of the CSK batting unit. With runs on the flow, it would take something special to stop them
In addition to these two, we also feel Australian Glenn Maxwell and South African AB de Villers are players who could showcase a fight against this Chennai Super King unit.
Key stats
# Virat Kohli is the highest run-getter in the fixture and the skipper is 91 runs away from scoring 1000 runs against the Chennai side. Can he become only the 2nd player to score 1000 runs against a single opponent?
# Ruturaj Gaikwad has an incredible average of 98 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore and with his current form he is well on track to push it to 100.
# Dwayne Bravo is just one wicket away from becoming only the 3rd bowler in IPL history to claim 160 wickets.
# CSK's Suresh Raina is a touching distance from overtaking Kohli in the sixes tally. If the left-hander does manage to clear the fence on 4 occasions, he will find himself above Kohli in the list.
RCB vs CSK fantasy team
Captain and Vice-Captain picks
Prediction
The last time the teams met, it was the Men in Yellow that came out the victor. MS Dhoni and his men after a mediocre performance in the last season have managed to make a great bounce back. With the top-order being stead and the depth in CSK's batting order, keeping them to a modest total would be a tough ask.
RCB on the other hand have completely lost their plot and their skipper does not look at his best. However, the star-studded team is just one win away from attaining their winning mojo but we do not think it will be tonight.
Cricwizz predicts Chennai Super Kings to win and climb to the top of the table.
Game Day: RCB V CSK Preview
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) September 24, 2021
The previous match was a tough pill to swallow, but we know what it takes to come out victorious, and we spoke about our chances going into the all important match against CSK on @myntra presents Game Day.#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/nMjuSs1TAX
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