IPL 2020
Chennai has lost the reverse fixture to RR, by 16 runs. © BCCI
“Too many holes in the boat and when you try to plug one, water comes out of another,” joked MS Dhoni after his team’s fifth loss of the season. Taking a closer look you could perhaps conclude that it is a fair assessment of not only his team, but Steve Smith’s Rajasthan Royals as well. As the two sides head to their respective 10th encounter of their waning campaigns, one against the other, they have much in common beyond identical numbers on the points table.
Both CSK and RR started with what they will look back on and see as false sunrises. RR flew off the blocks with two big wins in Sharjah, and CSK started with a resounding victory over the champions Mumbai Indians. But since then, the combinations have not worked, the intention has been lacking at times and they have lost games that should have closed. Both have had too many loose ends that have not been tied up. Both form guides are indicative of his biggest mistakes this season – the inability to find continuity with results.
Before Monday’s game too, there are thorny obstacles they must overcome. Just as CSK made its way to its more balanced lineup, it has run into another hurdle: replacing Dwayne Bravo due to the West Indian injury.
For RR, his top three have run into different problems each time since the first two wins. Robin Uthappa’s success at the top, the only bright spot in the loss to RCB, should provide some reassurance about a better start to the future, but RR hopes that’s not just a flash to the former KKR starter who also endured. one of his worst seasons in 2019.
Despite their lackluster career to this point, both CSK and RR haven’t been mathematically ruled out of playoff contention yet. The opportunity to climb from the bottom half of the table should be motivation enough, but Monday’s game comes with the added bonus of being a four-point.
When: Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals, October 19, 2020, 7:30 pm IST
Where: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
What to expect: Abu Dhabi has welcomed fast bowlers like nowhere else at this IPL. There is a value for the fast pace, and the Mumbai Indians have benefited the most from it, winning five of their six games there.
A great challenge from Jofra Archer awaits Sam Curran. The move to open with Curran showed promise on the first down against SRH, but Tushar Deshpande of the Mumbai Indians was able to rush the southpaw on a false blow with a strong rebound in the first over. Don’t expect Archer to do less.
Team news
Super Kings of Chennai
Bravo’s injury against DC means CSK must reflect on its resources to play death. That Abu Dhabi’s lean towards the rapids could spell a comeback for Lungi Ngidi, who played in CSK’s first two games of the season. A forgettable outing in Sharjah relegated him to the bench since then, but his ability to hit the cover worked in CSK’s favor in their win over MI, he also played in Abu Dhabi.
One more decision CSK might have to make is whether to play a third spinner, at Piyush Chawla, at the cost of a hitting resource, at Kedar Jadhav, or rely solely on the eight spin overs from Karn Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja.
Probable XI: Sam Curran, Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (C, sem.), Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jadhav / Piyush Chawla, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Karn Sharma, Lungi Ngidi
Royals of Rajasthan
First-rate roulette has continued for RR. But with Uthappa building momentum at the top against RCB, he is likely to keep his spot there. However, the decision is whether to continue with Ben Stokes at the top to keep the left-right combination or to place him in a role that he is most familiar with in the middle order. The latter will allow Jos Buttler to reopen the innings, where it has been most effective for RR.
Jaydev Unadkat conceded 46 in 4 overs on Saturday. More importantly, 25 of them came in the penultimate against AB de Villiers, greatly changing the game in favor of RCB. So the question is, stay or switch with Unadkat?
Probable XI: Robin Uthappa, Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson, Steve Smith (C), Jos Buttler (week), Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Shreyas Gopal, Jofra Archer, Jaydev Unadkat / Varun Aaron, Kartik Tyagi
Did you know:
– MS Dhoni will become the first player to appear in 200 IPL games
– CSK has lost the least amount of ground in intermediates (12) while RR has lost the most (27). Interestingly, they both obtain the same score in this phase: 7.68.
– Sanju Samson, man of the match in the reverse game, has scored just 77 runs in his last seven innings and hit just 73 balls.
What they say:
“The guys have been working pretty hard. We caught a lot, we put pressure on them, but it all comes down to taking advantage of key moments of the day. And unfortunately we couldn’t and paid a pretty high price. One day (break) can be very different the next, we could wear blinders in Abu Dhabi. ” – CSK head coach Stephen Fleming on Shikhar Dhawan’s costly sacks in the loss to DC.
“Very disappointing, as we played very well for most of the game. [against RCB]. Two games in a row now that we were in the box and we had a chance to win. ” Steve Smith, after a late blitz by AB left RR with six losses in nine games.
© Cricbuzz
