Bottom-placed Chennai Super Kings will face in-from Royal Challengers Bangalore in match 44 of IPL 2020 at Dubai, in the first game on Sunday. CSK have had a horrible run in IPL 2020 with only three wins from 11 matches, and look set to miss the play-offs for the first time in IPL history (notwithstanding their suspended years). RCB, in complete contrast, have 14 points from 10 games, and trail Mumbai and Delhi only the basis on net run-rate.
With criticism over not giving their youngsters a chance, CSK brought in Ruturaj Gaikwad and Narayan Jagadeesan for their return encounter against Mumbai Indians, but both failed to open their account. The experienced CSK batters also failed to stand up to the challenge as Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah and Rahul Chahar combined to have Chennai reeling at 43 for 7.
There was nothing much their bowlers could do as CSK suffered an embarrassing 10-wicket triumph. All-rounder Sam Curran was their only saving grace with a defiant half-century. Curran has been one of the few bright spots for CSK in a highly disappointing campaign.
Their opponents for Sunday, RCB, go in having overcome Rajasthan Royals and Kokata Knight Riders in their last two matches. Pacer Mohammad Siraj was sensational against KKR, completing blowing the batting away. They have a highly settled attack with Chris Morris, Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar all contributing.
In the batting, AB de Villiers has led the way with some stupendous knocks while skipper Virat Kohli and young opener Devdutt Padikkal have also made significant contributions. It is Aaron Finch’s barren run that remains a worry.
Head-to-Head Record: CSK lead RCB 16-9 in the head-to-head record. But, the latter beat them in the previous meeting, and go in as favourites.
RCB Predicted XI: Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (captain), AB de Villiers (wk), Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Chris Morris, Washington Sundar, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
CSK Predicted XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, N. Jagadeesan, MS Dhoni (captain and wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir, Josh Hazlewood
Pitch Report
Batting is becoming increasingly challenging at Dubai. KXIP defended 126 in a low-scoring game against SRH on Saturday.
Weather conditions
Being a day game, it will be hot, with temperature in the mid-30s.
--Renin Wilben