CSK to lock horns with Rajasthan Royals in doubleheader Saturday
Chennai Super Kings will clash with Rajasthan Royals in the second game tonight of the doubleheader Saturday. The game will begin at 7:30 pm (IST). Sheikh Zayed Stadium will host the game.
Expected playing XI
CSK
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood.
RR
Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (C & WK), Liam Livingstone, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman, Kartik Tyagi.
Probable best performers
Ruturaj Gaikwad
Gaikwad is knocking on the door that will lead him to India’s T20 side in near future. With his sublime drives and lofted shots, Gaikwad has made a name for himself in the IPL in no time.
The CSK opener has already put up 591 runs with Faf du Plessis as openers so far, the most by an opening pair in the league’s history. They have had 70+ run partnerships in the last three games as well.
Gaikwad’s form has allowed CSK to have a fiery start right from the get-go. He’s enjoying the form of his life, something that Rajasthan will have to be wary of.
Josh Hazlewood
Hazlewood is brimming with confidence after clinching the Player of the Match trophy in the last contest. His opening spells have been proving Chennai with vital breakthroughs early in the game.
Hazlewood also has a knack for keeping a tight economy in white-ball cricket, which has made him a regular member of the Australian team as well. He has picked six wickets for Chennai in four games so far.
Sanju Samson
Samson is in a fine knick with the bat. While he may not be having his best season behind the stumps, he has had no problems thrashing bowlers all over the park.
The Royals captain has already scored 452 runs at an average of 50. With other RR batters not firing up, getting his wicket will be half the job done for the CSK pace cartel.
Match prediction
Chennai are already through to the next stage of the tournament for a whopping 11th time, but they will still come out hard against Sanju Samson and co.
CSK have enjoyed the best winning percentage this season, which Faf du Plessis, believes is because of their great balance. Moeen Ali’s addition has also bolstered CSK’s batting and bowling.
His and Ravi Jadeja‘s combination has bailed them out in crunch moments. They beat Sunrisers Hyderabad with ease in the last contest.
On the flip side, Rajasthan are on a three-match losing streak. They were outplayed by Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore in UAE.
The low-spirited huddle is unlikely to outfox MS Dhoni’s men on Saturday. CSK should get another win the bag on their way to the playoffs.
