Rajasthan Royals will look to get their stuttering campaign back on track as they take on defending champions Chennai Super Kings at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Thursday night.
Things haven't quite gone right for the Royals so far. They had a similar start last season but stitched four back to back victories towards the back end of the league to make a late charge into the playoffs. They would be hoping for a similar comeback this time around as they have already lost four out of their five matches so far. However, the task won't be easy as they face a rampaging Super Kings side at home now.
The visitors have started the season like champions already. They are positioned at the top of the table with five victories in six matches so far. They have had their share of injury concerns but new players have come in and stepped up with wonderful performances.
The last time these two teams played each other was in the reverse fixture this season in Chennai. The Super Kings were victorious by 8 runs, but the Royals fought well and gave MS Dhoni and Co. a tough time to deal with. This time, however, they will look to do better in order to get two points to their name. They have home advantage in their favour and that is a big boost.
Weather and Pitch conditions: Weather is expected to remain clear. Pitch will be on the drier and slightly slower
Rajasthan Royals will look to get their stuttering campaign back on track as they take on defending champions Chennai Super Kings at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Thursday night.
Things haven't quite gone right for the Royals so far. They had a similar start last season but stitched four back to back victories towards the back end of the league to make a late charge into the playoffs. They would be hoping for a similar comeback this time around as they have already lost four out of their five matches so far. However, the task won't be easy as they face a rampaging Super Kings side at home now.
The visitors have started the season like champions already. They are positioned at the top of the table with five victories in six matches so far. They have had their share of injury concerns but new players have come in and stepped up with wonderful performances.
The last time these two teams played each other was in the reverse fixture this season in Chennai. The Super Kings were victorious by 8 runs, but the Royals fought well and gave MS Dhoni and Co. a tough time to deal with. This time, however, they will look to do better in order to get two points to their name. They have home advantage in their favour and that is a big boost.
Weather and Pitch conditions: Weather is expected to remain clear. Pitch will be on the drier and slightly slower side. Spinners will do well but big scores are on the cards if batsmen bat a bit sensibly.
Player Recommendations
Wicket-keeper
Jos Buttler (10.5 Cr)
Buttler has been in good form of late. He has already scored two fifties in five innings. He got off to yet another good start in his last innings but was unfortunately dismissed for 30-odd runs. However, he would definitely want to kick on and get a big score to his name this time around.
Batsman
Faf du Plessis (9 Cr)
The South African international has made a terrific start to this season. He has scores of 54 and 43* to his name under back to back matches and is averaging 97.00 at the moment. He has hardly looked troubled against any bowler and that is a good indication of how well he is going to do in this match.
All-Rounder
Ben Stokes (9.5 Cr)
Stokes hasn't really fired in the tournament yet. He did well in the reverse fixture though, scoring 37 runs and picking up two wickets. But he hasn't been consistent enough and would want to give his best in this match.
Bowler
Jofra Archer (8.5 Cr)
Archer is well know for his pace and there are quite a few batsmen in this Super Kings lineup who are troubled by that. He will do well if he gets his rhythm going and gets his toe-crushing Yonkers in as well.
Uncapped Player
Shreyas Gopal (8.5 Cr)
Gopal is the fifth highest wicket-taker in this season so far. He has 8 wickets to his name at a mean economy rate of 6.37 and an excellent strike-rate of 12. He has a good record at this venue and should do well once again.
Captain: Jos Buttler
Vice-Captain: Faf du Plessis
Predicted Lineups
Rajasthan Royals: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Steve Smith, Rahul Tripathi, Ben Stokes, Prashant Chopra, Krishnappa Gowtham/Mahipal Lomror, Shreyas Gopal, Jofra Archer, Sudhesan Midhun, Dhawal Kulkarni
Chennai Super Kings: Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Scott Kuggeleijn, Deepak Chahar, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir
