FANTASY PREVIEW
Follow UsIn what is one of the most anticipated games of the season, Chennai Super Kings will be taking on arch-rivals Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai on Tuesday. The Super Kings have won 9 of their last 11 meetings against the Royal Challengers, but unlike previous H2H clashes, however, it’s the Faf du Plessis-led RCB side that will enter the contest as favorites. With three wins from four matches, RCB are flying high, and victory on Tuesday will help them break into the Top 2 of the table. CSK, on the other hand, are still searching for their first win of the season, having lost each of their first four games.
Ground Details
The clash between CSK and RCB is set to be the 7th game at the DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai. And it has to be said that the venue has provided some excellent balance between bat and ball, proving to be a great sporting wicket. The average batting-first score at the venue has been 166, and Gujarat managed to score 162 in the last match played at the venue. Notably, it was chased down by the Sunrisers relatively easily. It has to be said, however, that the venue has not been a ‘win toss win match’ venue. Across the last 4 matches, twice the team batting first has successfully defended the target.
On the bowling front, pacers have taken the lion’s share of wickets (nearly 70%). The SRH vs GT encounter saw 8 of the 9 wickets to fall being taken by the seamers. However, it’s the spinners that have been economical. Spinners have maintained an ER of 7.2 compared to the 8.8 by pacers.
Tuesday, too, should oversee a wicket that offers something for everyone.
Team selection
Captain selection
With 8 wickets in four matches, Wanindu Hasaranga is the highest wicket-taker for the Royal Challengers so far in IPL 2022. His season began rather poorly, with a 1/40 against the Punjab Kings in losing cause, but he’s since been an absolute gun. Across the last three games, the leggie has picked up 7 wickets while conceding at an ER of 6.66. With Harshal Patel set to be absent for Tuesday’s clash, backing the Sri Lankan to be the captain is pretty much a no-brainer.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Hasaranga to take 1-2 wickets vs CSK
X-factors
He might be 38 and exclusively playing franchise cricket, but Dwayne Bravo has been getting the job done for the Super Kings. With 6 wickets, he’s the highest wicket-taker for CSK this season currently, and he’s picked at least one wicket in every match. Against the big-hitting RCB line-up, his variations and deception will be key for Jadeja’s side.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Bravo to take 1-2 wickets on Tuesday
Moeen Ali was integral to CSK winning the title last season, and against SRH, he showed signs of regaining the form he showed last year. The southpaw struck 48 off just 35 balls, and struck a few lusty blows that injected momentum into the innings. In an RCB line-up that has multiple left-handers, Moeen could be a handful with the ball in hand too, thanks to him being an off-spinner.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Moeen to score 19-29 runs and take 0-1 wkts vs RCB
Young Anuj Rawat had a quiet start to the tournament, but exploded against Mumbai where he struck a match-winning 66. He’s an intent machine, and he has all the tools to hurt a CSK bowling unit that has looked toothless all season. He’ll certainly be one of the x-factors to watch out for.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Rawat to score 30-44 runs on Tuesday
Probable XIs
CSK: Robin Uthappa, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja (c), Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (wk), Dwayne Bravo, Chris Jordan, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary
RCB: Faf du Plessis (c), Anuj Rawat, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), David Willey, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sid Kaul, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj
