The 2019 edition of the Indian Premier League will get underway when Chennai Super Kings take on Royal Challengers Bangalore at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday evening. This match can be referred to as a Clash of the Titans as players like AB de Villiers, Shane Watson, Dwayne Bravo and Faf du Plesis will be pitted against one another. The list doesn't stop there as present and former Indian skippers Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni will lead their sides RCB and CSK respectively.
In 23 head to head matches, CSK have been victorious 15 times whereas RCB have only won on seven occasions. If the record at Chepauk is considered, CSK have the upper hand with six victories out of the seven matches they have played here against RCB. So that gives the home team a huge mental edge whereas RCB will need to bring their best game to the fore in this match.
Marcus Stoinis and Nathan Coulter-Nile won't be available for RCB as they are still on duty for Australia. Lungi Ngidi has been ruled out of the entirety of IPL for CSK.
Weather and Pitch conditions: Clear Skies throughout day and night. The pitch at Chepauk is generally on the drier side. So, spinners will come into play. Pacers with variations will be very handy. A total of 150 is par in the first innings.
Predicted XI:
CSK: Faf du Plesis, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS
The 2019 edition of the Indian Premier League will get underway when Chennai Super Kings take on Royal Challengers Bangalore at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday evening. This match can be referred to as a Clash of the Titans as players like AB de Villiers, Shane Watson, Dwayne Bravo and Faf du Plesis will be pitted against one another. The list doesn't stop there as present and former Indian skippers Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni will lead their sides RCB and CSK respectively.
In 23 head to head matches, CSK have been victorious 15 times whereas RCB have only won on seven occasions. If the record at Chepauk is considered, CSK have the upper hand with six victories out of the seven matches they have played here against RCB. So that gives the home team a huge mental edge whereas RCB will need to bring their best game to the fore in this match.
Marcus Stoinis and Nathan Coulter-Nile won't be available for RCB as they are still on duty for Australia. Lungi Ngidi has been ruled out of the entirety of IPL for CSK.
Weather and Pitch conditions: Clear Skies throughout day and night. The pitch at Chepauk is generally on the drier side. So, spinners will come into play. Pacers with variations will be very handy. A total of 150 is par in the first innings.
Predicted XI:
CSK: Faf du Plesis, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (C/wk), Kedar Jadhav, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Mohit Sharma, Imran Tahir
RCB: Parthiv Patel (wk), Virat Kohli (capt), AB de Villiers, Shimron Hetmyer, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Pawan Negi, Tim Southee, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Siraj
Player Recommendations:
Wicket-keeper: MS Dhoni (9 Cr)
Dhoni's form with the bat has been on the up for the past couple of months. Moreover, he showed in last year's IPL what he is capable of. He will mostly bat at No. 4, and his role with the bat will be very crucial in a match like this.
Batsman: Virat Kohli (11 Cr)
The Indian skipper is the best batting option available in this match. There are other tempting options available in Shane Watson and AB de Villiers, but nothing can beat the qualities of Kohli as a batsman. He will either open the innings or bat at No.3.
All-Rounder: Dwayne Bravo (9 Cr)
The Caribbean all-rounder is the best option available for this position. He may bat at a lowly No 7 but he will bowl his full quotation of four overs. His variations on a Chepauk pitch might prove difficult to handle for batsmen.
Bowler: Yuzvendra Chahal (9 Cr)
Chahal has been RCB's most potent wicket-taking option over the years. He bowls in the middle overs and tries to take wickets. The pitch at Chepauk might giving him just an extra cutting edge to get on top of the batsmen.
Captain: Virat Kohli
Vice-Captain: Shane Watson
