After a forgetful IPL 2020, Chennai Super Kings were outdone by young and sprightly Delhi Capitals.
But MS Dhoni’s side bounced back with a comprehensive win against Punjab Kings. As Chennai face Rajasthan Royals, who also rallied to a last over win against Delhi Capitals thanks to the most expensive player Chris Morris, both sides will be looking to built on their recent gains and not lose the momentum.
CSK hit back superbly after a chastening defeat to Capitals with Deepak Chahar putting his hand up with a four-wicket haul to break the back of the Punjab batting line-up, setting up a six-wicket victory.
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Skipper Dhoni would have been happy with the bowlers' performance after they had been taken to the cleaners by Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan in the opener.
The Super Kings will expect Chahar to continue the good work while also hoping that Sam Curran, Shardul Thakur and the others also step up.
Also, South African pacer Lungi Ngidi is out of quarantine and could be drafted into the playing XI to give more teeth to the CSK pace attack.
Meanwhile, Royals will be keen to build on the win over Capitals after a dramatic four-run loss to Punjab.
Skipper Sanju Samson hit a magnificent ton which almost single-handedly won the opener for them and his form along with that of Jos Buttler and David Miller will be crucial to their chances in the tournament.
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Royals would like to see their batsmen fire in unison as the top-order collapsed against Delhi before Miller and Chris Morris pulled them past the line.
The experienced pacer Jaydev Unadkat underscored his value with a superb spell against Delhi while the young Chetan Sakariya has shown promise. The experience of Morris and Mustafizur Rahman could be crucial in tight situations.
Match and telecast details:
Match: 12th match of IPL 2021, between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.
Date: April 19 (Monday), 2021
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
TV Channels: Star Sports Network
Live Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar
Head-to-Head: CSK have won 14 matches, while RR have 10 wins to their name.
Likely XIs:
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Manan Vohra, Sanju Samson (c & wk), David Miller, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Gopal, Chris Morris, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya.
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar.
Squads :
Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c & wk), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, KM Asif, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, N Jagadeesan, Karn Sharma, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shardul Thakur, Sam Curran, R Sai Kishore, Moeen Ali, K Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujra, Harishankar Reddy, Bhagath Varma, C Hari Nishaanth.
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Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c & wk), Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Stokes, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Manan Vohra, Anuj Rawat, Riyan Parag, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Mahipal Lomror, Shreyas Gopal, Mayank Markande, Andrew Tye, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya, KC Cariappa, Liam Livingstone, Kuldip Yadav, Akash Singh.
