Squads –
RR –
Steve Smith (c), Ankit Rajpoot, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Mahipal Lomror, Manan Vohra, Mayank Markande, Rahul Tewatia, Riyan Parag, Sanju Samson, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Varun Aaron, Akash Singh, Anirudha Joshi, Anuj Rawat, Andrew Tye, David Miller, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi, Oshane Thomas, Robin Uthappa, Tom Curran, Yashasvi Jaiswal
CSK –
MS Dhoni (C & wk), Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, Faf du Plessis, Shardul Thakur, Mitchell Santner, Dwayne Bravo, Josh Hazlewood, Kedar Jadhav, Karn Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Ambati Rayudu, Lungi Ngidi, Sam Curran, Monu Kumar, Shane Watson, Sai Kishore, Narayan Jagadeesan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KM Asif, Ravindra Jadeja, Murali Vijay
Team News –
CSK –
– The Super Kings started their IPL journey way their usual way winning the game. Rayudu and Faf with individual 50s amd Ngidi with the ball were the show stealers for CSK.
– Bravo is not yet 100% fit according to team coach so he will be still out of the game.
– Shane Watson, Faf Du Plessis , Sam Curran and Lungi Ngidi will be their likely 4 foreign players.
– Shane Watson and Murali Vijay will open for CSK. Vijay was a surprise pick last game but failed to score and was out on single digit along with Watson who was also out on 4.
– Faf Du Plessis will bat 1 down. Faf showed his class in last game by a match winning 58* last game.
– Ambati Rayudu will bat at 2 down. He proved his importance in last game with his match winning 78 run knock.
– Kedar Jadhav and MSD will bat at 3 and 4 down respectively. Kedar will contribute through bowl also. MSD demoted himself last game could be the same if they’re chasing a small total.
– Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran will do the late hitting for CSK. Both Curran and Jaddu were promoted over Dhoni last game.
– Ravindra Jadeja and Piyush Chawla will be the spinners for CSK and will be assisted by unorthodox type Kedar Jadhav.
– Deepak Chahar, Sam Curran and Lungi Ngidi will handle the pace attack. Chahar and Ngidi will bowl in death.
RR –
– The winners of the inaugural IPL will start their IPL journey against the fan favourites Chennai Super Kings.
– Royals Star All Rounder Ben Stokes in unavailable for the 1st half of tournament due to personal reasons.
– Jos Buttler will also be unavailable for 1st game due to quarantine issues.
– Steven Smith, David Miller, Tom Curran and Jofra Archer will be their likely 4 foreign players.
– Yashasvi Jaiswal and Experienced Robin Uthappa will open the Innings. Jaiswal has been in excellent form in the recently played u19 world cup where he was the leading run scorer. He will be accompanied by experienced Robin Uthappa who played for KKR previous season.
– Steven Smith will bat 1 down. Smith has been a consistent player throughout but plays a bit slow.
– David Miller and Sanju Samson will bat in middle order. Miller is a excellent striker of ball and also has the fastest t20 century on his name. Samson can also open the game.
– Riyan Parag and Tom Curran have to play the roles of finishers. Parag played some good knock last season and will also bowl.
– Shreyas Gopal and Riyan Parag will bowl spin for Royals. Both are good batters.
– Tom Curran, Jofra Archer, Jaydev Unadkat and Any 1 of Aaron/Ankit Rajput will lead the pace attack.
Probable XI –
RR –
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Robin Uthappa, Steve Smith (c), David Miller, Sanju Samson (wk), Riyan Parag, Tom Curran, Shreyas Gopal, Jofra Archer, Jaydev Unadkat, Varun Aaron/Ankit Rajput
CSK –
Murali Vijay, Shane Watson, Faf Du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni(C & wk) , Ravindra Jadeja,Sam Curran, Deepak Chahar, Piyush Chawla, Lungi Ngidi
Pitch Report –
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
The Sharjah ground has very small boundaries and pitches also are batting favourable resulting in a high scoring encounter.
Average Score : 156
Head to Head –
Overall: 22-14W/8L( in favour of CSK)
Team Blueprint –
WK –
Jos Buttler ( Opener, will not play this game)
MS Dhoni ( Middle order, best finisher in world cricket, averaging 83 last IPL with 416 runs, Must have especially in 2nd innings , his Batting position is not fixed)
Sanju Samson ( Open/3 down, can bat at any position according to situation, SR of 150 in IPL, Must have in wk section)
BAT –
Shane Watson( Opener, highly experienced, didn’t bowled last IPL , will play solely as a Batsman, 398 Runs in 17 games last season, failed last game but must have )
Steve Smith ( 1 down, very consistent, plays bit slow, 4000 t20 runs at Average of 32)
Ambati Rayudu( 2 down, excellent IPL 2018 where he scored 502 Runs, 71(48b) last game , Must have )
Faf Du Plessis( 1 down, international player, had a very good IPL with 396 Runs and scored 219 in 10 games in MSL 2019, 58* last game,Must pick)
Robin Uthappa ( Opener, very experienced, 4400+ IPL runs in 177 games, Must have , plays attacking cricket from ball 1 )
David Miller( 2 down, 6000+ T20 runs including 3 100s , ignored by lot today, can be a crusial pick)
M Vijay ( Opener, experienced, out on 1 last game, 2500+ IPL runs with 2 100s on his name )
Y Jaiswal ( Opener, young takent, highest scorer in u19 WC, 400 runs at average of 133, Punt pick this game)
ALL –
DJ Bravo ( Medium pacer , bats very low in IPL, didn’t played last game due to injury, could be rested more)
M Santner( Slow left arm, excellent option in this spin conditions, will likely miss out )
Ravindra Jadeja( Slow left arm + finisher, 16 wickets + 106 runs in 15 games last season for CSK, 110 overall Wickets ,2w last game, was promoted at 3 down)
Sam Curran( Left arm pacer + hard hitter of bowl, he can bat at any position, 1w + 18(6b) last game, Must pick, can be promoted any day)
Riyan Parag ( Middle order + Reg Break, 160 runs + 2 Wickets in just 7 games last season, good choice in SL too)
BOWL –
Imran Tahir( Leggie, Purple cao holder with 26 Wickets last season , didn’t played last game, Must have if plays )
Josh Hazelwood( Pacer, known for his swing early on, 4w in ODI series against Eng , will likely not play)
Deepak Chahar( Right Arm Swing bowler, death bowler for CSK, 35 wickets in IPL career, 2 Wickets last game, Must have )
Jofra Archer ( Right Arm fast, one of best bowlers in world cricket, 9 Wickets against aus recently in 6 games, Must have will bowl in death )
Piyush Chawla( Leggie, 3rd highest wicket taker in IPL, 151w in 147 Innings, leggies are must on this pitch )
Tom Curran ( Right Arm fast + hard hitter of ball, 152w + 900 runs in 123 t20 games, will bowl in death )
Shreyas Gopal ( Leggie, best bowler of RR, 20 Wickets in 14 games last IPL, Must have )
Jaydev Unadkat ( Left arm fast, known for his variations in death, experienced, 77 IPL Wickets )
Shardul Thakur( Pacer, raw pace, 9w last IPL, economy rate is very high close to 10)
C/VC Options –
RR –
Steven Smith
Sanju Samson
Jofra Archer
Y Jaiswal ( GL)
CSK –
Faf Du Plessis
Shane Watson
Ambati Rayudu
Sam Curran(GL)