ABOUT THE MATCH:
In the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League ( IPL), Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) are pretty much in similar situations. Out of their first nine matches, both teams have lost six and are precariously ranked in the bottom half of the points table.
The two teams are next scheduled to lock horns with each other at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Monday 19th October. The Royals defeated the Super Kings in their previous meeting by 16 runs after posting 216 on the board.
Outside of Sharjah, however, Steve Smith’s RR has been strained, to say the least. In reality, they have lost six of their last seven games. They got out of prison, also in their game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Both RR and CSK can not afford losses as it will make their journey a challenging one in the event.
MATCH PREVIEW:
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS:
1. In the last match of CSK, Sam Curran was opening the match to introduce some pace and Dwayne Bravo has returned to the side to make an impact on wicket-taking.
2. In the tournament, Chennai Super Kings is able to make three matches to its name and revive in the season.
PROBABLE PLAYING XI:
Sam Curran, Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jadhav/Piyush Chawla, Dwayne Bravo/Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Karn Sharma.
RAJASTHAN ROYALS:
1. As a team, now Rajasthan Royals is struggling very hard. However, despite the change in the squad, they are most probably mix up their batting line up. RR can swap Ben Stokes and Robin Uthappa.
2. In the bowling unit, Jofra Archer is in his best form but the other bowlers have not performed that well.
3. Now, it is do or die situation for Rajasthan Royals. Either they have to perform their best or prepare for an early exit from the league.
PROBABLE PLAYING XI:
Robin Uthappa, Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson (wk), Steve Smith (C), Jos Buttler, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat/Varun Aaron, Kartik Tyagi.
PITCH REPORT:
The pitch in Abu Dhabi was an outstanding one for batting and not all that difficult on the surface was run-making. But the spinners have started getting some support from the surface as well.
Unlike the teams in Sharjah and Dubai, batting second has also done well. With humidity mainly in the 50s, the temperature will be about the 31 degrees Celsius level.
WEATHER REPORT:
There is no chance of rain interruption from here, temperature is going to be 31 degrees and due to the humidity, the players are going to face a lot of trouble because the wind here is going 10 km.
PROBABLE TOP PERFORMERS:
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS:
1. Shane Watson
With a few low scores, Shane Watson started the tournament, but he has found his mojo. The right-hander has 277 runs in nine matches with two fifties at an average of 34.62.
Watson has no negative records against the Royals, by any stretch of the imagination. He has 191 runs in five games at an average and strike-rate of 38.20 and 151.59 respectively. He has a top ranking of 106 as well.
RAJASTHAN ROYALS:
1. Steve Smith
With a couple of half-centuries to show for his efforts, Steve Smith began the IPL. But he went into a slump afterwards and strained to cross even a single-digit average.
However, the right-hander got his form back against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) with a fifty, though it came in a losing cause. When the Royals last encountered the Super Kings in Sharjah, Smith just notched 69.
HEAD TO HEAD:
1. Total Played– 23.
2. CSK Won– 14.
3. RR Won– 9.
4. Tie– 0.
5. No Result– 0.
BROADCAST DETAILS:
1. Tv – Star Sports Network.
2. Live Streaming – Disney+ Hotstar.
3. Match Timings– 06:00 PM local time, 07:30 PM IST.
PROBABLE WINNING TEAM:
A beautiful game is cricket. Just when most people thought that chasing was no longer going to work in this Indian Premier League edition, we saw three consecutive matches won by the chasing teams. Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals shocked Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings respectively on Saturday, though it was a walk in the park for Mumbai Indians on Friday.
It will be fascinating to see if this chasing team winning pattern also persists in the coming matches. Chennai Super Kings are expected to take on Rajasthan Royals next in the tournament in what will be a must-win encounter for both sides. In their respective last matches, both suffered heart-wrenching losses and they will now need to win almost every single match to qualify from here. We expect both sides to come out all guns blazing in this upcoming match, which is to be played on 19 October 2020, at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, with survival in the tournament at stake.
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