Chennai is hardly the place to visit if you’re looking for a first victory of the campaign.
That’s the task facing the Rajasthan Royals on Sunday, as they head to the MA Chidambaram Stadium while looking up at every other franchise in the IPL table.
MS Dhoni’s CSK have flattened both RCB and the Delhi Capitals, while Rajasthan are still reeling from an opening defeat that turned on Ravi Ashwin’s ‘Mankad’.
Below, we take a look at where the game could be won and lost.
PITCH NOT-SO-PERFECT
When the victorious captain takes time in his post-match comments to lambast the state of the pitch, you know it’s a bad one.
Both Dhoni and RCB leader Virat Kohli bemoaned how slow the track was, which happened to play straight into the hands of the hosts’ spin specialists Imran Tahir, Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja. They picked up seven wickets between them as Bangalore were skittled out for a laughable 70.
Whatever affects the away side’s batsmen is a problem for the home hitters too, and Ish Sodhi – at one time the world’s top ranked T20I bowler – is likely to make his IPL bow alongside fellow leggie Shreyas Gopal for the Royals.
Given the groundsmen have had more than a week to prepare the pitch, however, a successful run chase that ticks along at more than six runs per over this time would be gratefully received.
CHENNAI MUST LOOK AFTER CHAHAR
The star names both roll off the tongue and roll back the years at Chennai. Dhoni, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, Imran Tahir and many more – the golden oldies whom, don’t forget, were lampooned for their age before setting the league alight in 2018.
There is one younger name who is perhaps as crucial as any of the aforementioned. Deepak Chahar.
CSK’s pace stocks were already threadbare before David Willey announced he is set to stay in England in support of his pregnant wife, and with a view to the World Cup.
With no Lungi Ngidi either and Dwayne Bravo now the only foreign pace option until newly signed Kiwi seamer Scott Kuggeleijn arrives, the onus very much falls on Chahar, whose own injury history is decidedly chequered.
The 26-year-old has started the campaign in superb form, sending down four overs worth of no balls across two games with his niggling line and length.
He hasn’t picked up a wicket yet, but he’s the only non-spinner who can truly stifle Chennai’s opponents. The one person they cannot afford to lose.
BIG BEN PERFORMANCE?
For explosiveness alone, Rajasthan have as much top-order ammunition as any team in the tournament. It’s the bullets that come out of their bowlers’ hands that have so far been the problem.
Jofra Archer, Jaydev Unadkat and Stokes (2) have all been thrashed for 40 runs so far, and the accompanying economy rates would be fairly respectable batting averages for most tail-enders.
Conventional wisdom in Chennai, especially after the opening turn-fest, means Sodhi will get a chance to showcase his wares – which means one foreigner must drop out.
Archer is likely to be the fall guy after an uncharacteristically ugly display against Sunrisers Hyderabad, but Stokes needs to come up big.
He has the pulling power, the batting power and the simple ability to make something happen out of nothing, which is exactly what will be needed on a hellish pitch for fast bowlers.
So far he has conceded four runs for every one scored. It’s time to make that ratio prettier.
LIKELY XIs
CSK: Watson, Rayudu, Raina, Jadhav, Dhoni, Bravo, Jadeja, Chahar, Thakur, Harbhajan, Tahir
RR: Rahane, Buttler, Samson, Smith, Stokes, Tripathi, Gowtham, Sodhi, Unadkat, Gopal, Kulkarni.
Start: 18:30 (GST) Channel: BeIN Sports HD13
