The IPL could be a cruel affair, more so for a team hoping to stay alive in the race to the playoffs but has less than 48 hours turnaround time, especially after suffering a loss. Defending champions Chennai Super Kings find themselves in the tricky situation when they host a frustrated Rajasthan Royals, smarting after two consecutive losses, in Sunday’s afternoon match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
The Super Kings are currently fourth in the standings with 12 points from as many games but the defeat against Gujarat Titans on Friday has added pressure on them, and they now find themselves in a must-win situation in their remaining two matches.
The Royals, on the other hand, are second with 16 points but two successive defeats against Sunrisers Hyderabad, which was by just a run, and Delhi Capitals, did not allow them to cement their stay in the top two positions. While they are under no pressure of missing the playoff spot, but the Sanju Samson-led side will be eager to return to winning ways at the earliest.
However, the pressure will definitely be on the home side, hoping to resurrect their topsy-turvy campaign and what better opportunity than to do it at Chepauk. For that, CSK will be hoping to address their top-order concerns, with both Ajinkya Rahane and Rachin Ravindra putting up a flop show against the Titans.
Ruturaj Gaikwad would be eager to get back to his usual opening position and retain one between Rahane and Ravindra, and that ploy could atleast hold things up from one end, thanks to Gaikwad’s red-hot form.
While CSK would be pleased to see Daryl Mitchell and Moeen Ali scoring half centuries in the previous games, they would be concerned with the form of Shivam Dube, who has been a pale shadow of his aggressive best ever since he was selected to the Indian team for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Coming to CSK’s bowling, Tushar Deshpande once again fired against the Titans while Shardul Thakur came up with an economical spell. Also the lack of dew in the afternoon game could work in favour of the home spin unit, comprising Ravindra Jadeja and Mitchell Santner.
On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals will be desperate to break the losing streak, and for that the onus will once again be on the skipper Sanju Samson to lead from the front. He has been in prolific form with the bat and behind the stumps this IPL, that led to his World Cup selection, and would be hoping that fellow WC-bound Yashasvi Jaiswal also gets some crucial runs under his belt before travelling to the US and the Caribbean.
Jos Buttler has also blew hot and cold, and would be expected to come up with another impactful knock, even as the rest of the batting lineup comprising Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell could be expected to build on the platform set by the top order.
On the bowling front, Ravichandran Ashwin, who took three wickets in the last tie against DC, will fancy his chances on return to his home track, and along with Yuzvendra Chahal, the RR spin unit looks a potent attack. RR would expect their pace battery comprising the likes of Trent Boult, Aves Khan and Sandeep Sharma will be expected to put up a collective show against the unsteady home batting unit.