RCB to face CSK in high-voltage clash
Seeking recovery from respective losses in their previous games, both the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings will be hungry to prevail over each other in the battle of wits when they lock horns in their IPl clash on Wednesday.
Seeking recovery from respective losses in their previous games, both the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings will be hungry to prevail over each other in the battle of wits when they lock horns in their IPl clash on Wednesday.
The Super Kings are placed second in the table with six points from four games, while the Royal Challengers are languishing at the bottom with just two points from three outings.
Under pressure after back-to-back defeats against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians, the Royal Challengers will be keen to regain the momentum, but would face an uphill task against the two-time champions, who would be looking to snatch the number one position in the points table from Rajasthan Royals.
The Bangalore outfit has won just one out of their last three matches and the onus would be on the star-studded batting line-up to improve the success rate.
There is enough firepower in the RCB batting with the likes of Chris Gayle, the in-form AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli in the ranks. No other batsman knows the Twenty20 format better than Gayle. Out of 53 occasions, the destructive West Indian has emerged as the top-scorer on 25 occasions.
Gayle would be desperate to brush aside an unusual innings of 10 runs off 24 balls in the previous match against Mumbai Indians, and adopt back his aggressive approach.
Surprisingly, Gayle has the dubious record of lowest strike rate of 41.66 in IPL history for an innings of 10 runs or more.
The bowling, meanwhile, looks a tad weak in the absence of Mitchell Starc. Varun Aaron has failed to make an impression so far and Ashok Dinda might be replace him in the playing XI on Wednesday.
The spin department is being handled by Yuzvendra Chahal, who Kohli relies on a lot, and he would like to continue with his form.
On the other hand, CSK have clicked in almost all departments of the game so far in the tournament. They won their first three games against Delhi Daredevils, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians, before faltering against the current table-toppers Rajasthan Royals in Ahmedabad in their last match.
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