Royal Challengers Bengaluru eye second straight win against Chennai Super Kings in Bengaluru

Royal Challengers Bengaluru will aim for their second straight win when they face Chennai Super Kings in Bengaluru. RCB look strong with Kohli, Padikkal and Jurel in form, while CSK struggle with Sanju Samson’s poor start and ineffective bowling

Bengaluru: Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be highly optimistic about pulling off their second win in a row in the IPL when they face Chennai Super Kings, who have been hampered by Sanju Samson’s lukewarm start and a lack of strong bowling options, here on Sunday.
The Royal Challengers are well rested after their first game back on March 28 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, which they won by six wickets at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

That freshness apart, RCB look a far stronger side than their rivals now, a stark contrast from the past when the Chennai side was bustling with talent.

---

RCB have a settled top-order under Virat Kohli, who has kept himself relevant in the age of range-hitting with impeccable skills.

After a phase of inconsistency, Devdutt Padikkal seemed to have rediscovered his touch, evident in his blistering 26-ball 61 against SRH.

Rajat Patidar appeared comfortable with his dual role of leading the side and strengthening the middle-order.

RCB’s bowling has also improved. Once seen as their Achilles heel, they have added worthy names to make their attack more reliable.

The defending champions were expected to miss Josh Hazlewood, but Jacob Duffy stepped in seamlessly, destroying SRH’s top-order with a three-wicket haul. His accurate short-pitched deliveries troubled the Hyderabad batters.

Hazlewood may not return for the CSK clash, but his presence later will further strengthen RCB’s bowling. The hosts might also consider bringing in left-arm pacer Mangesh Yadav in place of Abhinandan Singh.

Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma may not be elite T20 spinners, but they have served RCB well with tight middle-over spells. They will now have to contain CSK’s middle-order of Shivam Dube, Sarfaraz Khan and Ayush Mhatre.

CSK’s bowlers, however, need to change their script. They have conceded 338 runs in 30.5 overs for only seven wickets in two matches — poor returns even in the aggressive T20 format.

Spinners Noor Ahmad and Rahul Chahar struggled against Punjab Kings, conceding 84 runs in eight overs. Pacers Matt Henry, Khaleel Ahmed and Anshul Kamboj too are yet to impress.

Their task will be tough against RCB’s confident batting unit at the Chinnaswamy with its short boundaries.

Concern over Samson’s start
While RCB’s batting looks in prime touch, CSK’s batting has issues to sort out, starting with Samson’s form. The T20 World Cup winner has so far made 6 and 7, denying CSK strong starts.

Samson needs to find his rhythm quickly to revive Chennai’s campaign, and a clash against cross-state rivals RCB could be the right occasion.

Teams (from):
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Rajat Patidar (captain), Abhinandan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Swapnil Singh, Virat Kohli, Venkatesh Iyer, Mangesh Yadav, Kanishk Chouhan, Vihaan Malhotra, Vicky Ostwal, Satvik Deswal.

Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, MS Dhoni, Mukesh Choudhary, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Gopal, Khaleel Ahmed, Ayush Mhatre, Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Rahul Chahar, Sarfaraz Khan, Aman Khan.

Match starts at 7.30 pm.