Rajasthan Royals will look to turn their fortunes around when they take on high-flying Chennai Super Kings in a blockbuster Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur on Thursday.

Rajasthan are languishing at the seventh place on the IPL table, having won just one and lost four matches. Chennai, on the other hand, are leading the charts with five wins in six matches.

Also Read: RR vs CSK: Chennai spinners home away from home against Rajasthan

The home team will have to come up with something spectacular if they are to beat MS Dhoni’s troops. Let’s take a look at some important player battles that could decide the outcome of the match –

Ajinkya Rahane vs Deepak Chahar

Medium-pacer Deepak Chahar has been in sensational form recently and in his last match against Kolkata Knight Riders, he scalped three crucial wickets to fire them to a seven-wicket win. He will now come up against RR opener Ajinkya Rahane and the CSK bowler enjoys a good record against him. Chahar has dismissed Rahane twice before in the league and the right-hander will have to be on his guard against the CSK bowler.

Jos Buttler vs Imran Tahir

Harbhajan Singh may have been sharing the new ball with Deepak Chahar but against Rajasthan, skipper MS Dhoni could very well get Imran Tahir to bowl at opener Jos Buttler. The South African spinner has been in good form recently and also enjoys a good record against the Englishman. Tahir has given just 19 runs off 11 deliveries to Buttler and he has also dismissed him once before in the IPL.

Steve Smith vs Ravindra Jadeja

Middle-order batsman Steve Smith hasn’t come to the party yet in the IPL and things are about to get even more tough for the Australian as he will have to come up against all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. Smith holds a poor record against Jadeja and expect Dhoni to make full use of it. Jadeja has bowled 48 deliveries to Smith and the right-hander has scored just 46 runs. Jadeja has also gotten rid of the former Australia captain four times in the cash-rich league.

Also Read: RR batting coach backs Smith and Stokes to perform against CSK

Ambati Rayudu vs Jofra Archer

Ambati Rayudu has been opening the innings for CSK and against RR, he will have to deal with all-rounder Jofra Archer. Rayudu’s poor form up the order will be exploited by Archer who holds an exceptional record against the right-hander. Archer has dismissed Rayudu twice before and he has given no runs against him off 7 deliveries.

Suresh Raina vs Dhawal Kulkarni

Middle-order batsman Suresh Raina hasn’t hit top gears yet and things aren’t going to get any easier against Rajasthan. Although he has been among the runs against RR bowlers Ben Stokes and Jaydev Unadkat in the past, he has struggled a bit against Dhawal Kulkarni. Raina’s strike-rate off Stokes reads 175 but against Kulkarni, it drops down to 126.6 and he has also been dismissed by the RR pacer once previously.

First Published: Apr 10, 2019 23:00 IST