Simon Katich, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) head coach labeled MS Dhoni as ‘master’ and said that his side has a huge amount of respect for Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
RCB and CSK will be locking horns against each other later on 25th April evening at the Wankhede Stadium. RCB and CSK are currently placed at the top two positions in the IPL points table.
Simon Katich: MS Dhoni Is A Master And CSK Has A Very Strong Batting Lineup
Chennai Super Kings, the three-time IPL champions are faring well in the 14th edition of the league, as the team is placed second on the table with their three-out-of-four victories so far.
Simon Katich has predicted that the match against CSK is going to be a “great game”, given how the MS Dhoni-led team has managed to bounce back into the tournament. Simon Katich praised CSK’s “damaging” batting line-up but added that RCB bowlers are in good form and are ready to take the challenge.
“Dhoni is a master, isn’t he? They are sitting at the top with three wins, they have had a fantastic start, they have fantastic players, we have a huge amount of respect for CSK, it is going to be great game, we have seen some great games in Mumbai already, ” said Simon Katich.
“CSK has a very damaging batting lineup but we know our bowling lineup has performed well this season,” said Simon Katich in a video posted on the official Twitter handle of RCB.
MS Dhoni has amassed 35 runs only in 4 games and will be looking to amend the IPL 2021 average of 11.66 in the next match against table-toppers Royal Challengers Bangalore. He isn’t in a red hot form bearing in mind his age and retirement from international cricket as he is playing only in the IPL.
For CSK, opener Ruturaj Gaikwad returned to form in the last match against KKR scoring 64 while another opener Faf du Plessis scored 95 and remained unbeaten. CSK won their 3rd match on the trot beating Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, and Kolkata Knight Riders in successive games after losing to Delhi Capitals.
Kane Richardson: It Was Good To Be A Part Of The Winning RCB Team
Pacer Kane Richardson who played his first game of the season for RCB against Rajasthan Royals also said that CSK has a fantastic batting lineup so RCB will have their task cut out.
“It was enjoyable to finally play. It has been good watching the boys play in the first three games but it was good to finally get out there and play and be a part of the winning team. I have been rusty myself, it was great,” said Richardson.
“It all depends on the conditions at the Wankhede. Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad, are in form and they are batting well, so we will come up with some plans to stop them. They have experience throughout their team, they have won a lot of IPLs so it is going to be a really good game,” he added.
RCB has won all their four matches and the side is at the top of the IPL table with eight points. On the other hand, CSK has won three games and lost one in the ongoing edition of the IPL.
In the match scheduled to commence in the afternoon, CSK has drafted spinner Imran Tahir and pace all-rounder Dwayne Bravo as Moeen Ali and Lungi Ngidi miss out. For RCB, all-rounder Daniel Christian and pacer Navdeep Saini get a chance in place of Shahbaz Ahmed and Kane Richardson.
Playing XI:
CSK: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir
RCB: Virat Kohli(c), Devdutt Padikkal, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers(w), Washington Sundar, Daniel Christian, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal