IPL 2021, RCB vs CSK: Here is the match preview
What's the story
The 35th match of the IPL 2021 will see Royal Challengers Bangalore taking on Chennai Super Kings at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. MS Dhoni's Yellow Army are back at their best. They presently occupy the second spot on the points table with six wins. Meanwhile, RCB are coming off a crushing defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders. They would want to bounce back against CSK.
H2H
Here is the head-to-head record
The Super Kings have dominated the Royal Challengers in the IPL so far. In 26 head-to-head meetings, Chennai have managed to win 17 matches with a win percentage of 65.38. On the other hand, Bangalore have earned nine victories against CSK (win percentage: 34.62). Notably, CSK have won five out of seven matches against RCB since IPL 2018.
Details
Pitch report and TV listing
The Sharjah Cricket Stadium will host the impending match. This venue is known for producing high-scoring matches due to short boundaries. The wicket here could be a graveyard for bowlers if they don't get their lengths right. One can watch the match live on the Star Sports Network and stream the same on the Hotstar app (paid subscription).
RCB
RCB will likely go with the same XI
RCB suffered a batting collapse in the game against KKR. None of the batters besides Devdutt Padikkal showed character. Meanwhile, the bowlers didn't have much to do as they were defending just 92 runs. Probable XI: Virat Kohli (captain), Padikkal, Srikar Bharat (wicket-keeper), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sachin Baby, Kyle Jamieson, Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal
CSK
CSK have no reason to change the winning combination
Dhoni doesn't believe in tinkering with the XI much. Although the middle-order looked bleak, he wouldn't bring any replacements after a solitary game. Sam Curran could be available, but Dwayne Bravo did well in the last game. Probable XI: Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (captain and wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood
Performers
Here are the top performers
Dhoni is the leading run-scorer against RCB, having amassed 825 runs from 30 games at a strike rate of 141.50. In the bowling segment, Jadeja has taken 23 wickets with the best bowling performance of 3/13. Against CSK, Kohli has aggregated 895 runs at a strike rate of 127.13, while Chahal has picked up 13 wickets with the best match haul of 3/40.
Recap
Recap: What happened in the last encounter?
The previous encounter between CSK and RCB was a one-sided affair. CSK racked up 191/4 after 20 overs. Jadeja smashed a record-equaling 37 runs in the final over delivered by Harshal Patel (5 sixes, 1 four). The CSK all-rounder starred with the ball too as he uprooted both Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers. CSK eventually restricted RCB to 122/9.