A fortnight before the ongoing IPL season, Chennai Super Kings looked balanced with a retained core and MS Dhoni at the helm. Cut to the present day, the defending champions are languishing at the bottom of the points table with four straight defeats under new skipper Ravindra Jadeja. The four-time champions will have their task cut out when they face confident Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have ticked all the boxes so far in the competition.
The 2016 IPL finalists are in pursuit of their maiden title and they have put up commendable performances after losing the opener against Punjab Kings. Under Faf du Plessis, Bangalore have recorded three straight wins, pulling off a hat-trick of chases against Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians. A buoyant Bangalore side now sets sights on a fourth consecutive win against Chennai, who will be under a lot of pressure after enduring a nightmarish start this year.
IPL 2022 CSK vs RCB Live Score
Bangalore brushed aside Mumbai in their previous game after dishing out an all-round performance at the MCA Stadium, Pune. Anuj Rawat (66 off 47 balls) struck his maiden IPL fifty, anchoring the team to the target in just 18.3 overs. Virat Kohli also seemed in good touch as he chipped in with 48 off 36 balls deliveries. On the bowling front, Harshal was brilliant with his cutters and speed variations.
Harshal has been the star performer for RCB over the past couple of seasons and took two wickets on Saturday night. He left the IPL bio-bubble following the death of a family member and the medium-pacer is unlikely to be available for the game. He has rejoined the bubble but needs to undergo mandatory quarantine of three days.
{{/usCountry}}Harshal has been the star performer for RCB over the past couple of seasons and took two wickets on Saturday night. He left the IPL bio-bubble following the death of a family member and the medium-pacer is unlikely to be available for the game. He has rejoined the bubble but needs to undergo mandatory quarantine of three days.
{{/usCountry}}Ahead of the blockbuster game at the DY Patil Sports Academy, we take a look at the probable playing XI for Royal Challengers Bangalore
Faf du Plessis: He was sedate in the previous game but du Plessis can take any opposition bowler to the cleaners. The skipper played the second fiddle against Mumbai when his opening partner was looking sublime. The South African had started off the tournament with a wonderful knock of 88 and RCB fans will be expecting a repeat of that innings.
Anuj Rawat: Notching up his maiden IPL half-century would have given a lot of confidence to the young opener. He also earned praise from du Plessis, who talked about Rawat's "potential" after the game. The left-hander scored at a brisk rate against Mumbai and hit two fours and six maximums. He had two fifty-plus partnerships -- 50 for the opening stand with skipper Faf (16) and 80 with former captain Virat Kohli.
Virat Kohli: A debatable call denied him a fifty in the last game but Kohli looked in good touch during his stay. The senior batter scored a 36-ball 48 and played a vital role in ticking the scoreboard. He got much-needed runs and Kohli will hope to notch up a similar performance against Chennai too.
Glenn Maxwell: He adds depth to any T20 side with his wide-range of strokes. Apart from being a power-hitter and off-spinner, Maxwell is a gun fielder as well. On his return to the playing eleven, Maxwell effect the run out of Tilak Varma with a brilliant direct hit.
Shahbaz Ahmed: As a lower-order hitting option, the lanky engineer-turned-cricketer has notched up impressive performances so far. The Bengal Ranji player produced two game-changing knocks, against Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals. He scored 26 against Kolkata and followed it up with a brisk 26-ball 45 against Rajasthan.
Dinesh Karthik: He is the firing finisher for RCB. The 36-year-old has been phenomenal so far in the tournament. The Indian has notched up 90 runs so far at a staggering strike rate of 204.55 and is yet to be dismissed in the tournament.
Wanindu Hasaranga: A vital element of the Bangalore bowling attack, the Lankan has been brilliant this season. Playing his first season for the franchise, Hasaranga has picked up eight wickets in the ongoing IPL edition. He had picked up a four-fer against Kolkata at the same venue Hasaranga will be looking to do an encore.
Josh Hazlewood: The Australian is set to make his RCB debut against his previous IPL franchise. Hazlewood's return will add loads of depth to the pace attack and his presence will be crucial in the absence of Harshal, who is serving a mandatory three-day quarantine after leaving the bio-bubble. Hazlewood was picked up by Bangalore for a sum of ₹7.75 crore in the February auction. He is likely to replace David Willey in the eleven.
Siddharth Kaul: He has played with Kohli during the Under-19 days and Kaul might reunite with his former teammate on Tuesday. He can replace Harshal in the bowling mix that comprises Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj as the pace alternatives. Kaul, who has previously played for Delhi Daredevils and Sunrisers Hyderabad, was bought by the Bangalore franchise for ₹75 lakhs.
Akash Deep: He was the most economical bowler of the lot against Mumbai Indians. The Bengal bowler had picked up a three-fer against Kolkata but turned out to be expensive versus Royals, conceding 44 runs in his four overs at the Wankhede. He redeemed himself with 1/20 against Mumbai and it could well be a breakout season for him. He has picked up five wickets from four games so far.
Mohammed Siraj: He was retained by the franchise ahead of the mega-auctions but the Indian has been quite expensive in the last two games, with figures of 0/43 and 0/51 against Rajasthan and Mumbai respectively. He has failed to make an impact in the first four matches and the star pacer will look to redeem himself in the ongoing season.