IPL 5 Preview: Chennai Super Kings Vs Royal Challengers Bangalore Match 13
Chennai Super Kings are set to host Royal Challengers Bangalore in match 13 of IPl 5, on Thursday, April 12, 2012. The hosts will seek to redeem themselves after having suffered two losses in three matches played so far.
The defending champions have looked far from reassured after beginning their 2012 campaign on a losing note against MI. But after registering a compensatory win against Deccan Chargers, Dhoni’s men slumped to a loss to DD, after yet another batting collapse.
RCB who began their campaign by beating DD were also subjected to a loss by KKR. But the visitors will take cheer from the fact that the Chennai batsmen have looked vulnerable with their opener Vijay failing in all three games played so far. With no shortage of marquee names, the batting order comprising the likes of Du Pleissis, Raina, Jadeja and Dhoni has failed to deliver and looks vulnerable without the reassuring presence of Mike Hussey at the top of the order.
The loss of early wickets has meant that CSK have struggled in two out of three games and against DD, they barely managed to score 110, their second lowest score in the IPL. Worst of all, their batsmen compounded their lack of form with atrocious running between the wickets against DD and conceded four run outs, in the process.
CSK will hope to leverage home advantage to take away tw points from the game on Thursday. They would be hoping for skipper Dhoni to recover his form. Although their bowlers are among the best in the tournament, the lack of runs on the board has made their bowlers like Bollinger and Albie Morkel operate under constant pressure, with the result that they have nnot been able to exert their influence.
After losing to KKR, RCB are grappling with their own woes ahead of Thursday’s game with the champions. Vettori will be hoping that Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli come good against CSK. While their batsmen have struggled, RCB’s bowlers have done a much better job and Muralitharan’s return to form bodes well for the visitors.
CSK have the home advantage but they must leverage that by batting first and putting up the runs on the board. A batting failure against the likes of Gayle and Kohli will quickly reverse the advantage in favour of the visitors.
CSK’s probable eleven: Du Pleissis, Saha, Raina, Badri, Dhoni, Bravo, Jadeja, Morkel, Ashwin Jakati, Bollinger.
RCB’s probable eleven: Gayle, Agarwal, Kohli, de Villiers, Tiwary, Pujara, Vettori, Vinay Kumar, Patel Zaheer Khan, Muralitharan.
About the Author (Author Profile)
Jinxatious is the Chief Editor of SportingAttitude.com
An avid writer, on an eclectic range of subjects, he brings to bear editorial experience garnered with a national newspaper in South-East Asia. He also has sportscasting experience, as a cricket commentator, and his passion for sport extends beyond Cricket, to Football, Tennis, and Olympic Sports.
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