Batting great Virat Kohli would look to sustain his momentum and remain among runs when Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) face the defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 49th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Wednesday at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune.
Virat Kohli is back as the batting Stalwart, who was out of the runs in the ongoing edition of the IPL, smacked a half-century against Gujarat Titans in RCB's most recent fixture. It would surely have been a huge relaxation for the former RCB skipper, who was under the radar this season for five single-digit scores and two golden duck dismissals.
Despite a good start by Rajat Patidar and a half-century from Virat Kohli, RCB couldn't get enough runs on the board at the end of the 20 overs as the Titans chased it successfully with three balls to spare.
Talking about their IPL 2022 journey so far, Faf du Plessis-led RCB have stumbled after a good start as they find themselves at the sixth spot of the points table with 10 points in their account.
While there are concerns in their batting line-up, RCB bowlers have not looked in good touch, with Harshal Patel and Mohammed Siraj being taken to the cleaners in the last few matches. Winless in the last three games, the Challengers, from here on, need to win all of their games to keep themselves as a front-runner.
Chennai Super Kings, on the other hand, under the leadership of MS Dhoni, came back to winning ways against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) recently by 13 runs. With 6 points in their account from 9 games, they are currently placed at the second last spot on the points table.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, who won the Orange Cap last season, returned to form in the previous game as he smashed an impressive 99 against SRH. Devon Conway also looked in good touch, and with 5 matches remaining, CSK would look to win it all to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Although the Royal Challengers Bangalore will head into this game with the favourites tag, they will be wary of the defending champions. The last time the two sides met in the IPL 2022, the Super Kings successfully defended the mammoth score of 216, and they must be planning to simulate the same performance against Faf du Plessis and Co on Wednesday.
Match Details
Match: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings, Match 49
Venue: Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
Date & Time: 4th May at 7:30 PM IST & Local Time
Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and Disney+Hotstar
Pitch Report: This is the same venue where CSK played their last game, and their opening duo wreaked havoc, taking the SRH bowlers to the cleaners. The pitch is expected to remain the same for this match, and one can expect a high scoring affair at this venue again on Wednesday. Four of the last five matches at this venue were won by the side batting first, and hence captains considering bats first after winning the toss shouldn't be a surprise.
Pitch Stats [Last 5 Matches]
Matches Played: 5
Matches Won Batting First: 4
Matches Won Bowling First: 1
Average 1st Inning Score: 173
Average 2nd Inning Score: 159
RCB vs CSK Head-To-Head
Matches Played: 30
RCB Won: 09
CSK Won: 20
No Result: 01
Key Matchups
Maxwell vs Theekshana: 42/2 at 190 SR
Maxwell vs Dube: 4/1 at 80 SR
Maxwell vs Santner: 10/1 at 111 SR
Rayudu vs Harshal: 19/3 at 118 SR
Rayudu vs Siraj: 30/1 at 158 SR
Kohli vs Bravo: 203/2 at 158 SR
Kohli vs Jadeja: 133/3 at 108 SR
Uthappa vs Harshal: 57/1 at 196 SR
Uthappa vs Hazlewood: 12/1 at 92 SR
Ruturaj vs Hazlewood: 5/1 at 100 SR
Squads
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis(C), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Suyash Prabhudessai, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood, David Willey, Jason Behrendorff, Chama V Milind, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Anuj Rawat, Sherfane Rutherford, Akash Deep, Aneeshwar Gautam, Karn Sharma, Siddarth Kaul.
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni(C & WK), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Dwaine Pretorius, Dwayne Bravo, Mukesh Choudhary, Mahesh Theekshana, Chris Jordan, Moeen Ali, Devon Conway, Tushar Deshpande, Hari Nishanth, N Jagadeesan, Subhranshu Senapati, Prashant Solanki, KM Asif, Simarjeet Singh, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Matheesha Pathirana, Bhagath Varma.
Probable Playing XI
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (C), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Shahbaz Ahmed, Mahipal Lomror, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood.
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Mitchell Santner, Dwaine Pretorius, Simarjeet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary, Mahesh Theekshana.
CREX XI Suggestion
Wicket-Keeper: MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik
Batters: Virat Kohli, Devon Conway, Rajat Patidar, Ruturaj Gaikwad
All-Rounders: Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed
Bowlers: Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mukesh Choudhary
Captain: Devon Conway
Vice-Captain: Glenn Maxwell