Chennai eyes league double over Bangalore
Chennai Super Kings would look to make it two wins from two matches in the Indian Premier League 2021 Phase 2 when it takes on fellow play-off contender Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Sharjah Cricket Ground, here on Friday.
MS Dhoni-led Chennai comes into the contest on the back of a 20-run victory over Mumbai Indians in Dubai on Sunday, while Bangalore suffered a crushing nine-wicket defeat at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders in Abu Dhabi on Monday. CSK and RCB have 12 and 10 points respectively from eight games each. Chennai could have suffered the reversal against Mumbai if not for opener Ruturaj Gaikwad’s unbeaten knock of 88. The young batsman would hope to continue the fine form, with his opening partner Faf du Plessis keen to shrug off the rustiness.
The middle-order, consisting of Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu and skipper Dhoni, would be hungry for runs after an uninspiring outing against MI. All-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo will once again try to contribute in both departments.
The bowling attack, led by Deepak Chahar, defended a modest total against Mumbai and will head into the Bangalore clash with confidence. Now that Sam Curran is available for selection following his mandatory quarantine, it will be interesting to see if Josh Hazlewood retains his place in the playing eleven.
RCB would be eager to get back to winning ways and for that, it will have to improve its batting immensely. Devdutt Padikkal and captain Virat Kohli will aim to come good on a favourable surface, while the middle-order batters would like to forget their performance in the previous match and start from scratch. Overseas recruits Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers will have to step up to the occasion if Bangalore aspires to defeat Chennai. The RCB bowlers, who came up with an underwhelming display against KKR, would look for an improved outing.
Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Kyle Jamieson, Yuzvendra Chahal and Wanindu Hasaranga are likely to make up the Bangalore bowling department. In the meeting between the two teams during Phase 1 in Mumbai, Chennai had come up trumps by 69 runs.