Super Kings face the heat in a crucial contest
Royals will look to open quali cation door this time
Rajasthan Royals’ campaign has been impressive in this edition, with eight wins out of its 11 matches so far. Knocking on the doors of quali cation, it su ered defeats — against SRH and DC — in its last two games.
On Sunday, Sanju Samson’s men will look to get back to winning ways against an inconsistent CSK and seal a spot in the playo s.
“We should have qualied earlier but our last two games were really close. The second half is probably the most important and we have set it up nicely by winning a lot of games in the
rst half. We don’t want to leave it too late and put pressure on ourselves,” said Royals all-rounder Donovan Ferreira at a media interaction here on Saturday.
“If we can win this game, it gives us a better chance of nishing in the top two. Playing against Chennai is always big, they are a good team. It can go either way, but if we play our brand of cricket, then it will go our way.
“I think the team that assesses the conditions quickly and adapts well will emerge on top. Being an away game, we want to adapt fast and execute our plans,” he said.
As Chennai Super Kings prepares to take on Rajasthan Royals in its nal home league match at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Sunday, the atmosphere will be feverish for more than one reason.
First, it is an afternoon game in the middle of peak summer here, and the mercury has been soaring for a while now. More importantly, CSK is facing the heat after its 35-run loss to Gujarat Titans on Friday and might need to win its remaining two games to qualify for the Playo s.
But beyond these considerations, the stakes are high because there is a sense of foreboding surrounding this clash. It is a question that is on everybody’s lips. Could this be M.S. Dhoni’s last time in Chennai? A few years ago, the former India skipper had said he wanted to end his T20 career in Chennai.
With the city set to host the last two playo games (Quali er-2 and Final), fans will hope it won’t be the case. A win for CSK brightens its chances of nishing in the top four and gives the fans another opportunity to see their favourite cricketer.
However, it will be challenging for the mis ring Super Kings against a strong Royals. The constant changes haven’t helped, and the defending champion will hope the players can raise their levels and sign o in style at home.
Meanwhile, Sanju Samson’s side, which needed just one win to seal its quali cation, stumbled in the last two games against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals. While the lack of runs from the middle-order is a concern, Royals has enough repower with bat and ball to extend its four-match winning streak against CSK.