Last Updated on 5 years by Charbel Coorey

IPL 2020 Match 25: CSK vs RCB Preview Dream11 Possible Playing 11 Pitch Report | RCB vs CSK Dream11 Prediction Today | Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings Key Players | Dubai Pitch Report

Match two on this Saturday promises to be a very interesting one. Two sides, both of whom have had their middle order problems, do battle in an important game as we head closer to the halfway point of IPL 2020.

Royal Challengers Bangalore have enjoyed positives so far this season, winning three of their five matches so far. However, old problems continue to resurface, such as their middle order batting and death bowling. In fact, their run rate in the middle overs is the worst in the league, and their economy rate at the death is a high 12.9, with only Kings XI Punjab worse at this stage. So, RCB will be out to build on the positives such as the emergence of Devdutt Padikkal and genius of Yuzvendra Chahal, whilst sorting out their key issues.

Similar applies to Chennai Super Kings. They have been required to chase in all their games so far in 2020, and haven’t done a very good job of it. Their middle overs run rate is only slightly better than RCB’s (7.6), which has cost them dearly in run-chases. MS Dhoni’s men seem to lack urgency in the middle stages, often waiting too late before making a final assault at the target. So, will CSK continue to back players such as Kedar Jadhav, who has the lowest strike rate (98) for a player batting in the top seven (minumum 15 innings) since IPL 2018? Or will there be some key changes as they look to build towards a playoffs spot?

Key Players to Watch/Key Stats

• Virat Kohli has found some form in the last two matches after a slow start to IPL 2020. Also, the RCB captain has the most runs in RCB-CSK matches (761, avg. 36.24). Key player.
• MS Dhoni is next with 706, and will be crucial in the middle and death overs for CSK. Dhoni’s 706 runs come at a superb average and strike rate of 41.53 and 148.63.
• Can AB de Villiers improve his record vs CSK? He has played 16 matches against them for 344 runs at an average of 21.50. He has been excellent in IPL 2020 so far (5 matches, 155 runs, avg. 51.66, SR 176.13, 2 50s).
• Faf du Plessis is currently second in the Orange Cap race. His 299 runs have come at an average of 74.75 and SR 151.01. Also, when playing for CSK, Faf has scored 208 runs vs RCB at an average of 52.00.
• His opening partner, Shane Watson, will be key. Watson is coming off consecutive half centuries. However, can he improve on his underwhelming record vs RCB? In 14 innings against RCB, Watson has scored 294 runs at 24.50 (SR 117.60). When playing for CSK, the numbers don’t make for good reading: 4 matches, 23 runs, avg. 5.75, SR 74.19.
• Devdutt Padikkal has hit three half centuries in five innings in IPL 2020. Interestingly, whenever Padikkal reaches double figures, he has gone on to make a half century.
• Ambati Rayudu, like Dhoni, will be key for CSK in the middle. When playing for CSK, Rayudu has struck 171 runs vs RCB at an average of 42.75.
• Dwayne Bravo has the most wickets in RCB-CSK out of anyone in the two current squads (13 in 13 matches). Also, Bravo is coming off a three-wicket haul vs KKR.
• Sam Curran could be a key weapon for CSK against RCB’s struggling death bowling. His 68 runs in IPL 2020 far have been struck at a strike rate of 226.66. In addition, Curran has taken seven wickets in six matches this season, and could be key against RCB’s up-and-down middle order.
• Yuzvendra Chahal has gone wicketless only once in five matches in IPL 2020 (last game vs DC). Chahal has 10 wickets in nine matches vs CSK, and could prove to be key against CSK’s misfiring middle order.
• Can Deepak Chahar bounce back after a poor outing vs KKR? He will be key against RCB’s top order. Shardul Thakur, on the other hand, is bowling well, with five wickets in three games in IPL 2020.
• Isuru Udana also has five wickets in three games, and will be key at the death (if he plays).

Stats and Facts

• Head-to-head: Matches 25, CSK 16, RCB 8, NR 1.
• CSK have won seven of the last eight matches vs RCB, with RCB winning the last meeting by one run. MS Dhoni nearly stole the match at the death.
• Spin vs Aaron Finch? Finch has been dismissed four times by spinners in 2020, at an average of 14.8. In fact, this average is the worst among all players who have scored 50-plus runs against spin this season.
• Three of MS Dhoni’s five highest scores in the IPL have come against RCB. Also, MSD has not been dismissed vs RCB since 2017, where he was playing for Rising Pune Supergiant.
• Virat Kohli needs 31 to reach 6,000 runs for RCB.
• Should CSK play Imran Tahir in this game? RCB have struggled against legspin in the past few years, and Tahir has six wickets in three games for CSK vs RCB.

Possible Playing 11

Do CSK persist with Kedar Jadhav? He came in for criticism after scoring 7 off 12 balls when the equation was 39 off 21 balls against KKR.

Chennai Super Kings: 1. Shane Watson, 2. Faf du Plessis, 3. Ambati Rayudu, 4. Kedar Jadhav, 5. MS Dhoni (c & wk), 6. Ravindra Jadeja, 7. Dwayne Bravo, 8. Sam Curran, 9. Shardul Thakur, 10. Deepak Chahar, 11. Karn Sharma/Piyush Chawla

Chris Morris is reportedly very close to playing. This could be the game where he features and attempts to improve RCB’s death bowling.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1. Devdutt Padikkal, 2. Aaron Finch, 3. Virat Kohli (c), 4. AB de Villiers (wk), 5. Moeen Ali, 6. Washington Sundar, 7. Shivam Dube, 8. Chris Morris/Isuru Udana, 9. Navdeep Saini, 10. Mohammad Siraj, 11. Yuzvendra Chahal

Dubai Pitch and Weather Report

Teams batting first have dominated at Dubai, with nine wins out of the 10 matches so far. The only team to successfully chase a score was CSK against KXIP (10 wickets). The average first innings score is 181.5, which indicates an excellent batting strip.

With CSK’s struggles when chasing, batting first could prove to be a crucial move, even with dew around.

Dream11 Prediction

Option 1:

Option 2:

Match Prediction

The team that bats first is likely to go on and win this match. Both sides have had their troubles chasing, so setting a score in the region of 170 can be a winning one.

Thanks for reading!