CSK vs RR 61st Match Prediction

CSK vs RR Team Previews

Chennai Super Kings

The Chennai Super Kings lost their latest fixture against the Gujarat Titans and the road to the playoffs has just become a bit trickier for them. With as many as 6 teams separated by just 4 points, the Chennai Super Kings are currently 4th on the points table.

Ruturaj Gaikwad suffered a rare batting failure on Friday as he was dismissed for a duck. He remains a key batsman for CSK. Ajinkya Rahane and Rachin Ravindra’s form at the top of the batting line-up is a big concern, while Daryl Mitchell and Ravindra Jadeja have been rather inconsistent in the middle order.

Runs have dried up for CSK and that is a big problem in the highest scoring T20 tournament in history.

MS Dhoni has often been sent in quite late and that has cost the team some runs in the death overs. He continues to dazzle in the little time he spends at the crease but it is clear that Dhoni is no longer a central figure (in cricketing terms) at CSK. 

With 3 of CSK’s star pacers including Mustafizur Rahman, Matheesha Pathirana, and Deepak Chahar unavailable for the rest of the season, there is a whole lot of pressure on Tushar Deshpande and Shardul Thakur to perform.

Simarjeet Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, and Mitch Santner all bowled well in patches but clearly, the CSK bowling lineup is very vulnerable right now. 

Rajasthan Royals

The Rajasthan Royals have been one of the most dominant teams this season. With 16 points in 11 matches, the team is sitting 2nd on the points table.

A lot will depend on Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler’s opening partnership. While the duo has given the team some good starts, they have been a bit inconsistent in their performance. That is perhaps down to the risk-taking intent that both of them have shown and is something that more teams are now adopting.

Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag, both of whom are in brilliant form, have backed up the openers very well. Samson has smacked 5 half-centuries in 11 innings, while Parag has 4. Both of them are brilliant against spin as well as medium-pace, making bowling to them a real challenge.

There are also a couple of big strikers lower down the order in the form of Rovman Powell but what RR lacks is a genuine all-rounder. The bowling has been excellent as well. Yuzvendra Chahal is the leading wicket-taker for the team with 14 wickets, while Trent Boult and Avesh Khan have 11 wickets each. Sandeep Sharma has proved to be an excellent seamer towards the death overs. 

The impact player rule has been used very well by RR this season. Sanju Samson's captaincy is also a big reason for their success. 

<br />