Follow UsWould this be MS Dhoni’s last IPL game? Or, would this be his final match as Chennai Super Kings’ captain? Also, would Rajasthan Royals finish in the top-two? But, what if they lose?
One more defeat and the Men in Yellow could finish with the wooden spoon for the first time in the history of the Indian Premier League. And, that’s not how Dhoni and his men would want to end this season. People have tried in the past but you will never know what’s going inside Dhoni’s head. Like he has done countless times in the past, the 40-year-old will once again leave everyone in suspense regarding what the future holds for him and the franchise.
Well, not too many things have gone right for Chennai this season but they would be eager to end this edition with a win and not give their arch-rivals Mumbai Indians a chance to finish above them.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan are all but through to the playoffs and have got a superb opportunity to finish second on the points table. And, all they have to do is defeat Chennai who have struggled throughout the tournament. Lucknow Super Giants are currently placed second with 18 points but are done with all their league-stage encounters. Sanju Samson and Co. are currently at 16 points but their NRR (+0.304) is slightly better than Lucknow’s (+0.251).
Royal Challengers Bangalore (16 points) have got an NRR of -0.253, so even if Rajasthan lose to Chennai on Friday (May 20), they will have to make sure they don't lose by an insane margin. Samson has been very impressive as a captain, and he and his team will know the importance of finishing in the top-two.
Shimron Hetmyer is back
Shimron Hetmyer, who had flown to Guyana for the birth of his first child and missed the last two games, has rejoined the RR set-up and will be available for this important fixture. The big-hitting left-hander from West Indies has been in exceptional form in the ongoing tournament, having slammed 291 runs in 11 innings at an average of 72.75 and a strike rate of 166.28. Hetmyer has eight 25+ scores in 11 innings and has finished quite a few games for his franchise. In fact, no other batter has scored more runs than Hetmyer in the last five overs this season. Almost 80 percent of his total runs have come at the death and his presence in the middle-order will take some pressure off Jos Buttler and Samson, at the top of the order.
Buttler’s middling returns in last four games
The 31-year-old from England smacked 566 runs in the first nine innings, studded with three centuries and as many fifties, and it looked like he would go on to challenge Virat Kohli’s impregnable 2016 numbers. However, the right-handed opener has managed only 61 runs in the last four innings at a strike rate of 105.2. Buttler did get 30 off 16 deliveries against Punjab Kings and the Rajasthan team management wouldn’t be too worried about his middling returns in the last few games, well, at least not yet. The likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal too have started contributing a lot more but Buttler’s form is going to be crucial in the playoffs and the Englishman would want to get back amongst runs against Chennai.
CSK have something to build on
This is only the second time in the history of IPL that Chennai have failed to qualify for the playoffs. There are quite a few things CSK haven’t done right this season. There have been way too many batting collapses, dropped catches, lack of runs from Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja, inconsistent showings with the bat from Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube and Robin Uthappa, constantly failing to finish close games… But, there are a few things they have done right that could help them next season.
In the absence of Deepak Chahar, Mukesh Choudhary has made a name for himself. The left-arm seamer has taken 11 wickets in the powerplay and almost did what Chahar has been doing for Chennai for a couple of years. Choudhary has all the ingredients to get better and could form a decent combo with Chahar next season. Then there is Maheesh Theekshana, who has taken the most number of wickets (12 at an economy of 7.45) for a finger spinner in IPL 2022. On top of that, the opening combination of Devon Conway and Gaikwad looks solid and the two have already shown how good they can be together.
There are a few other young players well. Prashant Solanki and Matheesha Pathirana received their maiden cap against Gujarat and both of them had a pretty good outing. The 22-year-old leg-spinner from Mumbai, Solanki didn’t take a wicket but only conceded 18 runs in his four overs. Having been labelled as 'an even more extreme example of Lasith Malinga', Pathirana struck with his very first ball and returned with figures of 2/24. There is one more young exciting talent waiting for that one opportunity and it would do Chennai no harm by giving the IPL audience a glimpse of dashing fast-bowling allrounder Rajvardhan Hangargekar.
Probable XIs
Rajasthan Royals - Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, R Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Obed McCoy.
Chennai Super Kings - Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, N Jagadeesan, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Mitchell Santner, Prashant Solanki, Simarjeet Singh/Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Matheesha Pathirana, Mukesh Choudhary.