Rajasthan Royals will be hosting the Chennai Super Kings in their next game, and will be eager to get back to winning ways. CSK are sitting at the top of the points table and are coming to the Sawai Mansingh on the back of a massive victory over KKR. We have had a three-day break since our last game. The boys have trained hard during these three days and the focus is purely on beating the side that is number 1 on the points table. This is our second meeting with CSK in 2019. We had travelled to Chennai for our away game on 31st March. The battle went down to the last over with some great knocks by Stokes and Archer that nearly took us over the line at the Chepauk. In humid conditions that day, both teams sweat it out and gave it their all to emerge on top. What does this encounter have in store for the fans? Let’s find out… Powerplay of Numbers At the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Rajasthan Royals have the edge over CSK, winning three out of the five clashes. Although, when it comes to playing at our fortress, we have a slight edge over them winning 3 out of the total 5 games being played. On their last visit here, during our #CancerOut game, we were treated to a Jos Buttler special. It was also the first time we donned a pink jersey for a game. The atmosphere that night was quite electric and we are expecting nothing less this time around with Dhoni’s men taking on ours. Chennai Super Kings won’t be too alien to the conditions, considering that they are used to similar surfaces at home. Both Imran Tahir and Harbhajan Singh were excellent in their last game against the Knight Riders. In IPL 2019, Imran Tahir has taken the most wickets in the overs 7-15. With our batsmen being used to playing spin on slow surfaces, they would be looking to keep the run-rate as high as possible during that phase. Dynamic Duels Jofra Archer vs Ambati Rayudu Our strike bowler Jofra Archer has already bowled over 50 dot balls, so far in this season and has an extremely impressive record against Ambati Rayudu. Jofra Archer has managed to pick Ambati Rayudu twice and Rayudu is yet to open his account against him. Rayudu slid down the order with Faf du Plessis opening with Watson. It will be interesting to see if Jofra gets an opportunity to bowl at him and go for the a hat-trick of sorts against Rayudu. Ben Stokes vs Imran Tahir Ben Stokes’ persistent ability to hit the ball out of the park against Imran Tahir’s variations will be a battle to watch out for! In 4 innings, Ben Stokes has scored 47 runs while facing Imran Tahir. The Protea though, has managed to dismiss him a couple of times. Tahir will dish out as many googlies as he can against Stokes who with his wonderful bat-swing will look to send the ball into the stands. Jos Buttler vs Deepak Chahar In the past, Jos Buttler has gotten the better of Deepak Chahar. Jos is seven runs shy of scoring a half-century against Chahar. He has scored 43 off 28 balls and this new ball battle will be something to keep our eyes on. Chahar bowled very well against the dangerous pairing of Lynn and Narine in CSK’s last game, and seems to be in good form. We need to win this game so that we don’t get into a very difficult position. We’ve been in a similar situation in the past, and have come out trumps with some match-winning performances by the entire team. We need something similar once again from our boys, and the SMS is the best place to get back to winning ways. Halla Bol!
RR aim to return to winning ways
RR aim to return to winning ways