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HomeChennai Super KingsIPL 24th Match Preview: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Chennai Super Kings

IPL 24th Match Preview: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Chennai Super Kings

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Last Updated on 7 years by Charbel Coorey

RCB vs CSK IPL 2018 Cricket Blog

IPL 2018 is rolling on, offering up plenty of unpredictability and excitement. Room for error is shrinking by the day, and a big game awaits both Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings, for different reasons.

Royal Challengers Bangalore sit precariously close to the bottom, and are desperate to make a mark in IPL cricket. They continue to rely on Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers to score vital runs, which is pretty much a given looking at their XI, but something they must improve is their death bowling. As has been the case on so many occasions over the last decade, RCB gave their opposition a sense of momentum heading into the innings break. Against DD, they conceded 7.31 an over in the first 16. In the last four, this ballooned to 14.25 an over. It begs the question of “when will they learn?” but they have no choice against a CSK side that is the best in the death overs (15-20) out of any team, scoring at 12.12 an over. Against DD, AB played an absolute blinder. Against CSK, they can’t afford to rely on such a freak of nature to get it spot on again.

For Chennai Super Kings, they have the chance to go top of the IPL table. Like RCB (who strike at 11.24 an over), their death batting is strong, but the key difference is they have a number of different players who can step up when required. From Dwayne Bravo, Sam Billings, MS Dhoni to Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu, they have a line up that will keep a struggling RCB attack on notice. However, CSK aren’t the finished product yet. Like RCB, they struggle with the ball at the death, conceding 10.89 an over, second worse behind their opponents tonight.

So, an interesting game awaits. Both sides are strong with the bat at the death, but not so with the ball. Could we see a 200 vs. 200 game at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium?

Key to a Royal Challengers Bangalore win

RCB can score 200 in this game and still lose. No question about it. Of course, a key to victory is how Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers can perform, but the bowlers have a crucial role to play, to ensure that what Kohli and de Villiers contribute isn’t as critical.
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What I mean by this is that if RCB’s bowlers don’t aim up, Kohli and de Villiers will be under even more pressure. Interestingly, after the initial onslaught against KKR in their season opener, RCB haven’t fared too badly in the powerplay overs of IPL 2018. Since their unsuccessful visit to Eden Gardens, RCB have conceded 7.92 per over, with 8 wickets taken between overs 1-6 of their games. Against DD, they were superb, conceding 28/2 in the powerplay, but then went on to concede 174/5.
Against CSK, RCB need a full 20-over bowling performance. It’s not a championship quality to compete for half or three-quarters of an innings, so the time to get it right is now. Umesh Yadav and Chris Woakes in particular have been in good in patches, but they need to step up at the death. 

Key to a Chennai Super Kings win

Can they pile on the pressure against Virat and AB?
If they bat first, CSK will be eyeing out a big score against an RCB attack that continues to prove unreliable, and then target quick RCB top order wickets with the ball. If they bowl first, CSK will be looking for a similar start they had against SRH, where they had them on the ropes thanks mainly to Deepak Chahar’s amazing spell. 
Importantly, CSK need to guard against an attitude of “we’ll chase anything RCB post.” They can’t afford to complacent in this game, and like RCB, they need to bowl better at the death. Their incredible close finishes so far in IPL 2018 should serve as a good reminder that you need to remained focused till the end.

Predicted teams

RCB’s opening partnerships have an average length of 10 balls. Not even two overs. So, in addition to their death bowling, their opening combination is a cause for concern. However, expect them to stick with Manan Vohra at the top with Quinton de Kock. Also, it will be interesting to see whether they stick with Corey Anderson for the all-rounder spot.
Royal Challengers Bangalore XI: 1. Quinton de Kock (wk), 2. Manan Vohra, 3. Virat Kohli (c), 4. AB de Villiers, 5. Mandeep Singh, 6. Corey Anderson, 7. Washington Sundar, 8. Chris Woakes, 9. Umesh Yadav, 10. Mohammed Siraj, 11.Yuzvendra Chahal
CSK made a painfully slow start against SRH, scoring just 41 in their first nine overs. However, led by Ambati Rayudu and Suresh Raina, CSK recovered to post 182. Expect them to stick with the same line up, but with more expected from the top order in the powerplay overs against an RCB team that has fared OK in this period.
Chennai Super Kings XI: 1. Shane Watson, 2. Faf du Plessis, 3. Suresh Raina, 4. Ambati Rayudu, 5. MS Dhoni (c & wk), 6. Sam Billings, 7. Ravindra Jadeja, 8. Dwayne Bravo, 9. Harbhajan Singh, 10. Deepak Chahar, 11. Shardul Thakur

Stats and Facts:

  • Head-to-Head: Matches: 20, RCB 7, CSK 12, No result: 1
  • RCB and CSK are the top two sides for batting run rates in the last five overs. However, they are also the two worst sides for bowling run rates in this period.
  • Virat Kohli has 706 runs v CSK, the most against any team. He also needs just 18 runs to reach 2,000 IPL runs at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
  • Yuzvendra Chahal to be kept for Suresh Raina? Raina has been dismissed by Chahal four times in eight matches.
  • MS Dhoni loves Bangalore. He averages in excess of 60 there, with a strike rate of 191.86.

Prediction:

After what we saw in Mumbai last night, anything is possible.
However, CSK look more settled, and look more likely to deliver a polished performance against an RCB side that remains inconsistent. CSK to win in a close battle.
Charbel Coorey
Charbel Cooreyhttps://cricblog.net
Charbel is the owner & founder of cricblog.net, based in Sydney, Australia. He started the website to fulfill his love for the game of cricket. Charbel has been featured on other publications including OP India, Times of India, and The Roar, among others. He is also a keen fantasy sports player. Charbel has also had the privilege of interviewing cricketers on the CricBlog TV YouTube channel, including James Neesham, Rassie van der Dussen, Andrew Tye, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat and Saurabh Netravalkar: https://www.youtube.com/@cricblogtv For any story tips or questions, you can contact Charbel at charbelcoorey@cricblog.net.

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