Big picture
Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals finished seventh and eighth respectively in the points table in IPL 2020, but their seasons in 2021 are opposite: CSK were the first team to secure their knockout spot when they beat Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday , while the hopes of the royals are hanging by a thread.
The success of Super Kings rests on two key factors: consistency and batting depth. With lower-order hitters like Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar on cards at number 9 and 10, their batsmen had the license to play aggressively, especially in the period immediately after the powerplay when most teams looked to play less risky . shot. They opposed a complete overhaul after last year's disappointment and instead favored a similar core of players, using only 14 (four fewer than any other team) throughout the season.
Meanwhile, the Royals have struggled to cope with the absence of three key overseas players in Jofra Archer (elbow injury), Jos Buttler (paternity leave) and Ben Stokes (mental-health break). Evin Lewis and Mustafizur Rahman have both impressed but Chris Morris has struggled in the UAE leg and Liam Livingstone is yet to impress from the middle order.
By the time they take the pitch for the second game of Saturday's double-header, they'll have a pretty clear picture of their chances of qualifying, but the message from the camp has been that no less than three out of three wins are likely. Is. Sufficient. Their last two games are against Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians, both pushing for a qualification spot; They need to win on Saturday to make sure they still have a realistic chance before those two encounters.
In the news
With their season underway, will the Royals stick to their guns or make changes? Their director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara admitted after their loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore that Morris "didn't do the job he wanted to do or we would have liked him in the second half - he knows it and we know it." . He is replaced by Oshane Thomas and Tabrez Shamsi. Livingstone, meanwhile, could come under pressure for his spot from Glenn Phillips or David Miller, and Riyan Parag holds his position after 93 runs from 10 innings throughout the season.
The Super Kings may take the opportunity to rest some players after sealing their qualifications, with Sam Curran returning to the squad as a candidate if the workload of Dwayne Bravo or Josh Hazlewood is managed. Coach Stephen Fleming said they "won't be very experimental" as they look to confirm a top-two finish.
Likely XIs
- Rajasthan Royals (possible): 1 Evin Lewis, 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Sanju Samson (capt&wk), 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Mahipal Lomror, 6 Riyan Parag/Shivam Dube, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Chris Morris/Oshane Thomas, 9 Chetan Sakariya, 10 Kartik Tyagi, 11 Mustafizur Rahman
- Chennai Super Kings (possible): 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 Moeen Ali, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Ambati Rayudu, 6 MS Dhoni (capt&wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Sam Curran/Dwayne Bravo, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Josh Hazlewood
Strategy punt
- The Super Kings have scored 8.67 runs per over in the middle overs this season, second only to Rajasthan, and are the fastest team to score in the competition. With that in mind, can the Royals find a way to pick Oshane Thomas as the enforcer for the middle overs? Thomas bowled with pace and hostility in the recent CPL season and his shorter deliveries could have been well matched against Moeen Ali and Suresh Raina in the later stages of the powerplay.
- Moeen has bowled only four overs in four matches for the Super Kings in the first leg of the UAE season but could be a good option on Saturday. Lewis has scored at a strike rate of just 102.76 against offspin since the start of 2019 and with left-arm opening partner in Yashasvi Jaiswal, watching Moeen throw the ball off the ground inside the powerplay Wouldn't be a surprise. outer edge.
Stats that matter
- Deepak Chahar has been the leading powerplay bowler in IPL 2021 by a distance. He has taken nine new-ball wickets, four more than anyone else.
- Royals' squad contains the three most prolific six-hitters in T20 cricket this calendar year: Glenn Phillips (87), Liam Livingstone (82) and Evin Lewis (72).
- MS Dhoni has won five tosses out of 11 this season, and Super Kings have won all five of those games.
- Sanju Samson has scored 452 runs in IPL 2021, and needs 71 more to break KL Rahul's record for the most in a single season by a wicketkeeper-captain.