Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals are gearing up to meet at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday. Both sides, with one win and a defeat each would like to win this match to get momentum early in the IPL 2021.
The start of the season did not bore fruit for either of the sides as the Delhi Capitals mauled the Super Kings before the latter gave quite a similar treatment to the Punjab Kings.
CSK defeated the Punjab Kings comfortably, riding on Deepak Chahar’s brilliant bowling, reducing K.L. Rahul’s side to 26/5 by the seventh over. They kept a tight leash over the Punjab batsmen, with Jadeja and Moeen Ali running through their overs in no time.
As for RR, which after losing dramatically against Punjab by one run in the first match, came back strongly to beat Delhi Capitals, thanks to a terrific bowling performance. Their three left-arm pacers troubled the DC batsmen, with Unadkat finishing with excellent figures of 3/15 in his four overs. They survived a Rishabh Pant onslaught to restrict the Capitals to 147/8.
CSK, led by old warhorse Dhoni, has seen resurgence of its fortunes by the presence of Suresh Raina, who has given the much-needed batting balance to the side in the middle. Also, the presence of the likes of Jadeja has given the side an edge, with Jadeja showing his skills as batsman, bowler as well as a fielder par excellence. Also, the bowling of Deepak Chahar has been a highlight this season.
While a conscious effort has been visible in the approach of Raina, Faf du Plessis, and Moeen Ali across CSK’s two games thus far, the same has been missing in Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was the highlight of the last edition of the IPL.
As for the Royals, they started their campaign with a dramatic last-ball defeat against Punjab Kings, despite skipper Sanju Samson’s destructive 63-ball 119. The next match, the side lost Ben Stokes to an injury but David Miller rose to the occasion to guide the team to victory. The presence of Jos Buttler also gives the side an advantage. A lot for the Royals, however, will be on the skipper, Sanju Samson, who has been in blistering form so far.CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
STRENGTH
• Deepak Chahar took 4 wickets against Kings
• Sam Curran and Moeen Ali proved to be good all-rounders
• Ravindra Jadeja has been quite economical as a bowler
WEAKNESSES
• Flop show of Opener Ruturaj Gaikwad
• Shardul Thakur has failed to restrict runs
• Dhoni should come up in the batting orderRAJASTHAN ROYALS
STRENGTH
• Fast bowling of Jaidev Unadkat, Mustafizur Rahman & Chetan Sakaria
• Sanju Samson’s power hitting
• Chris Morris and David Millers batting
WEAKNESSES
• Flop show by openers
• Spin bowling is a main concern
• Rahul Tewatia is yet to fire
