IPL 2021 : CSK V RCB Match Preview & Probable XIs

CSK V RCB – HEAD TO HEAD : 27 MATCHES

CSK WON : 17, RCB WON : 9, NR : 1

Many had doubts as to how Chennai Super Kings would fare this season and they have answered all their critics in some style. Having won 3 of their 4 matches they sit comfortably at No.2 on the points table. They will be up against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have won all their matches and seem to be on a mission. It’s a battle between the two stalwarts of the Indian cricket. It’s M.S Dhoni vs Virat Kohli on a Sunday afternoon. What else do you need?

CSK managed to win a thriller against KKR the other night. They would be really happy with the performances of their top 3 batsmen. Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad stitched a 115 run opening partnership against KKR and set the platform for the big hitters. Moeen Ali has been excellent at No.3, keeps the momentum going. MS Dhoni came in at No.4 at looked in great touch and Played a fantastic little cameo.

Deepak Chahar has been extraordinarily good in the powerplay. He is getting the ball to swing and is bowling at excellent line and length which is making it difficult for the batsmen at the start of the innings. He ran through KKR’s top order and picked up 4 wickets, pushing KKR on the backfoot.  

RCB’s prime issue all these years was their over dependency on Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Glenn Maxwell’s addition has provided a fix to that issue. He has been RCB’s highest scorer as of now. They didn’t require his services in the last game against RR as Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli chased it all by themselves.  Devdutt Padikkal hit his maiden IPL century against the RR in the last game. He seems to have worked on his approach from the previous IPL. He used to be a little defensive after the powerplay but he showed no signs of that and rallied his way to a 52 ball 100. Virat Kohli played a second fiddle and then accelerated in the end which has been his template over the years and has provided him great success.

All seems to be going well in RCB’s camp. It is an unfamiliar territory for them but they have played some excellent cricket this time around and deservedly are the table toppers.

Wankhede Stadium means it is going to be another high scoring encounter. Expect a lot of big hits from both the sides in this top-of-the-table clash.

CSK, in all probability will be unchanged. RCB are coming off a thumping win and may go in with the same combination. They might think of playing Daniel Sams at the expense of kane Richardson, in case they want to add a little more depth to their ominous batting.

Probable XIs :

CSK : Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (C), Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi

RCB :  Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (C), Shahbaz Ahmed, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Washington Sundar, Kyle Jamieson, Daniel Sams/Kane Richardson, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal