Over the last three weeks, we have witnessed some intense action on the field. There has been some crackerjack of matches at the end of the 1/3rd of the tournament. Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab are sitting at the top of the Indian Premier League’s points table with 10 and eight points respectively.
The yellow brigade will now meet struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday (April 25) evening in the 24th match of the competition.
Chennai has played some superb brand of cricket. Most of the players have risen to the occasion and delivered the goods for the franchise.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team is never used to starting off with four wins from six matches.
However, the trend has been changed this time around. Right from the very first match, CSK has found a new hero in each of the games.
With most of the players over the age of 30, skipper Dhoni reminded that fitness will be a concern for them as the tournament progresses.
However, all of them are professional cricketers and it won’t be a huge concern for them.
All-rounder Shane Watson has performed brilliantly so far. He is one of the three centurions in the tournament so far. On the other hand, the bowling department has been pretty effective.
However, they were plundered for a few runs by Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson. Karn Sharma, in particular, got a tap from Williamson as he got them inches closer to the victory target.
For Chennai, Ambati Rayudu played a brilliant knock the other day and will maintain his place in the top order.
All-rounder Dwayne Bravo was hit for a few by Hyderabad batters. However, given his guile and accuracy, Bravo should make a turnaround today with both the bat and the ball.
The good form of their captain Dhoni will also keep them in good shape.
Also Read: IPL 2018: 24th Match, RCB vs CSK – Super Kings Predicted XI
Bangalore after a horrendous start to the tournament finally came back to winning ways against the Delhi Daredevils. It was a good all-around performance.
In the end, it was the breathtaking knock of 90 of 39 deliveries from the blade of AB de Villiers which proved to be the difference between the two franchises of the domestic professional Twenty20 league.
RCB skipper Virat Kohli has always looked in superb form. He was also the holder of the Orange Cap and might cling on to it as the tournament progresses.
Despite their batsmen coming good in patches, their bowlers have been largely inconsistent. Umesh Yadav has begun brilliantly at times but has strayed all over the wicket on a certain occasion.
Their vulnerability in the bowling department hasn’t allowed them to win more than two matches out of five so far.
Team Combinations –
Royal Challengers Bangalore:
Despite Parthiv Patel and Moeen Ali batting for a long time in the nets, it is highly unlikely that Kohli will tinker with the winning combination.
Predicted XI: Quinton de Kock, Manan Vohra, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Corey Anderson, Mandeep Singh, Washington Sundar, Chris Woakes, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
Chennai Super Kings:
Head coach Stephen Fleming recently confirmed that Imran Tahir is fit. If he returns then either Faf du Plessis or Sam Billings have to sit out. If the former is rested, Ambati Rayudu would go back to the opening slot with Watson.
Predicted XI: Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Sam Billings/Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Karn Sharma/Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir, Shardul Thakur
Also Read: IPL 2018: Match 23, Mumbai Indians vs Sunrisers Hyderabad – Sunrisers Hyderabad Players’ Ratings
Match Prediction:
Chennai has a 13-7 head-to-head advantage over Bangalore. The yellow brigade looks more consistent side owing to the records in particular.
On the other hand, Bangalore has lacked the consistency which might prove to be their downfall once again. Hence, I am backing Chennai Super Kings to come out triumphant.
