Table-toppers Chennai Super Kings (CSK), on a roll with their knack of clinching close wins, face a buoyant Royal Challengers Bangalore at Chinnaswamy.
The highlight of the match would be the clash between India’s current captain Virat Kohli and former captain MS Dhoni.
Here’s a look at CSK’s predicted XI.
Shane Watson
Shane Watson has been in prime form this season. It was only last week that he scored the second century in the IPL this season.
Watson also displayed his value to the team with the ball as well, as he has been amongst the wicket as well.
Faf du Plessis
It will be interesting to see if Faf du Plessis gets another game with Dhoni’s trend of coming up with a new XI in every match.
Du Plessis faced a difficult pitch up front, coming off an injury lay off. Maybe, Ambati Rayudu would exchange places with Faf, in the opening slot.
Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina displayed immense grit and determination to not give his wicket to a loose shot, which he has been accused of lately.
As a result, Raina had a half-century to go for, a feat missing in the whole T20 season for Indian cricket so far in his comeback.
Raina fans would hope this is the floodgates opening for many more to come, which would see him fly to the World Cup in England, batting at number four.
Ambati Rayudu
Ambati Rayudu finally came into the reckoning in the Chennai Super Kings after being sidelined by the Mumbai Indians, to accommodate for the likes of Nitish Rana.
Rayudu played a brilliant knock of 79 at his home ground at Hyderabad to display his hitting form. Kris Srikkanth recently came up and suggest Rayudu for the Indian T20I team.
MS Dhoni
Hyderabad saw a vintage Dhoni, smashing a 12-ball 25 to propel CSK’s score towards 200. Dhoni taking on Kohli is one of the main events of the Indian Premier League, with the former Indian captain taking on the current one.
MSD has wickets even after sustaining back pain, which is good news for his wicketkeeping fans.
Ravindra Jadeja
MSD rarely has used the services of Jadeja, when it comes to bowling. It was only against the Sunrisers that he got an opportunity to bowl out his four overs.
CSK’s dominating batting lineup means Jadeja’s ability with the bat hasn’t been tested often. Not to forget, Jadeja was retained by CSK prior to the auctions.
Dwayne Bravo
Dwayne Bravo this season is MSD’s go-to bowler at the death. After being expensive, Bravo has come back to bowl some crucial overs, affecting the results of the matches.
Bravo hasn’t had much go with the bat after the knock against KKR and Mumbai in the first two matches of the season.
Deepak Chahar
Deepak Chahar has been the find of the tournament, with his wicket-taking abilities along with lethal spells with the new ball. Chahar bowled 17 dot balls in his spell against Sunrisers along with three wickets, going at three over.
Shardul Thakur
Shardul Thakur bowling in the middle overs has proven to be successful in the tournament and one can expect a decent show by from the young fast bowler.
Imran Tahir
Tahir should make his way back into the XI instead of Karn Sharma, at the conditions of Bengaluru, where Chahal is the kings of leg spin.