IPL 5 Preview: Royal Challengers Bangalore Vs Chennai Super Kings Match 34
Royal Challengers Bangalore suffered an unlikely loss to Chennai Super Kings when the teams last met, when Dhoni’s men chased down a 200-plus target, at the champions’ home venue. RCB will now hope to avenge that loss, in front of vociferous home supporters, at Bangalore’s Chinnaswamy Stadium, when they host CSK on Wednesday, April 25, 2012.
RCB are coming off back to back wins against Rajasthan Royals, while CSK have, likewise, had two wins on the trot. RCB, as ever, will rely on their brilliant batting line-up, after revealing its depth against RR, at Jaipur, on Monday, where Gayle was indisposed, thereby preventing him from opening the innings. In the event, Dilshan carried his bat through, while De Villiers gave the crowd a comprehensive display of his range of strokes to power his side to 189.
The RCB bowlers also came good and most importantly, youngsters Appanna and Harshal Patel were impressive picking up all the wickets that fell to bowlers in RR’s innings. The RCB side has a balanced look about it and skipper Vettori need no longer worry about having an irregular bowler complete the fifth bowlers quota of overs. With Muthiah Muralitharan not finding a place in the eleven, RCB have an enviable bench strength, as well.
CSK, like RCB, rely on a powerful batting line-up, and in recent matches, they have found in Badrinath the perfect foil to Du Plessis’ aggression at the top of the order. With Raina, Dhoni and Jadeja to follow, rival bowlers have no relief in sight. The champions’ bowling has also stood up in the absence of Morkel, with Kulasekara proving a more than useful replacement.
RCB will enjoy home advantage; that, added to CSK’s none-too-impressive away record, must make Vettori’s men favourites to add two points to their tally and propel themselves up the points table.
RCB’s probable eleven: Gayle, Dilshan, Kohli, De Villiers, Agarwal, Tiwary, Vettori, V Kumar, Z Khan, H Patel, Appanna.
CSK’s probable eleven: Du Plessis, Badrinath, Raina, Dhoni, Bravo, Saha, Jadeja, Ashwin, Jakati, Kulasekara, Bollinger.
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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