Rajasthan Royals host Chennai Super Kings in Jaipur. (Source: IPL)
After suffering multiple defeats that put a pause to their Indian Premier League campaign, Rajasthan Royals found their way back to winning ways and would hope to continue the path when they host second-placed Chennai Super Kings in their next fixture on Friday.
The sixth-placed RR, that won just eight points from ten matches, managed to win against Kings XI Punjab by 15 runs but must maintain the winning attitude in their remaining four games if they want to proceed in the competition. The hosts will also go into the match with revenge on their minds after their 64-run loss to MS Dhoni’s side in Pune.
The Ajinkya Rahane-led side has suffered due to below-par performances of both their bowlers and batsmen. While skipper Rahane and Sanju Samson have given average performances, all-rounder Ben Stokes and Rahul Tripathi failed to live up to their mark.
The Yellow Brigade, on the other hand, sit comfortably at the top after missing out on IPL action for two years due to the ban and are just a win away from sealing their spot in the play-offs.
Even though bowling remains an area of concern for CSK, that have been banned from playing at their home ground this season due to Cauvery water issue, Chennai’s batsmen including Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Dwayne Bravo, Dhoni and Suresh Raina are in top form. Ravindra Jadeja and Harbhajan Singh also stepped up their game in the last match against RCB, restricting the side 127/9.
Rayudu’s contribution to the team has been arguably the best as he sits at the third position in the Orange Cap table with 423 runs from 10 games while skipper Dhoni, who has scored 360 runs including three half-centuries, has shut his critics up, proving that age is just a number.
Teams:
Rajasthan Royals: Ajinkya Rahane(c), Ben Stokes, Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Rahul Tripathi, D Arcy Short, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jofra Archer, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaydev Unadkat, Ankit Sharma, Anureet Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Prashant Chopra, Sudhesan Midhun, Ben Laughlin, Mahipal Lomror, Aryaman Birla, Jatin Saxena, Dushmantha Chameera, Heinrich Klaasen, Ish Sodhi.
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (C), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Faf du Plessis, Harbhajan Singh, Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, KM Asif, Kanishk Seth, Lungi Ngidi, Dhruv Shorey, Murali Vijay, Sam Billings, Mark Wood, Kshitiz Sharma, Monu Kumar, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur, N Jagadeesan, David Willey.