RCB vs CSK Match Prediction & Betting Tips - May 18, 2024
The Royal Challengers Bangalore will host the Chennai Super Kings for a virtual eliminator as both teams vie for a place in the playoffs. The two teams will clash at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday in what will be the last group-stage match for both teams.
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings head-to-head record
The two teams have faced each other in 32 matches to date. The Chennai Super Kings have an edge here with 22 wins, while RCB has managed to win only 10.
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings Live-streaming and Broadcast
This match can be live-streamed on the Jio Cinema App or watched live on the Star Sports Network.
Match Prediction and Cricket Betting Tips for RCB vs CSK IPL 2024.
RCB vs CSK Team Previews
Royal Challengers Bangalore
After an extremely poor first half, the Royal Challengers Bangalore have mounted a stunning comeback over the last couple of weeks. The team has won 5 matches on the bounce and climbed to the 5th place, keeping their qualification hopes alive.
A big win here will take them ahead of teams like CSK and DC, both of whose NRR isn’t the best.
Leading the attack is the indomitable Virat Kohli. He is the leading run-scorer for this season and has scored 3 half-centuries in his last 5 outings. More importantly, his strike-rate is 155.16 for the entire tournament and he has also smashed 33 sixes!
Kohli’s opening partnership with Faf du Plessis is likely to set the tone for a big score. The team’s middle order has been dented a bit with Will Jacks returning back to England. But his departure does pave the way for Glenn Maxwell to make a comeback and prove his worth, especially as his form hasn’t been the best this season.
Is there a better big-match players than Glenn Maxwell to step in for RCB right now? We don't think so.
Rajat Patidar has played a couple of magnificent innings while Cameron Green and Dinesh Karthik have often proved invaluable as a finisher. RCB's batting lineup is living up to its reputation and we think it is far stronger than CSK's batting lineup right now.
Mohammed Siraj is peaking in form just at the right time and his opening spell with Yash Dayal will be important to keep the opposition batting under check. What the team lacks is a quality spin attack and that could cause them to leak runs during the middle overs.
Cam Green, Glenn Maxwell, and Swapnil Singh may all be used to try and give Faf du Plessis some flexibility with his bowling attack. Lockie Ferguson has given away runs at 10.52 per over so far. He needs to come up with something special in this crucial match.
Royal Challengers Bangalore Playing 11
Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik, Mahipal Lomror, Yash Dayal, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Lockie Ferguson.
Chennai Super Kings
This season has been sort of a mixed bag for the defending champions. CSK has won only 7 of their 13 matches so far. While a win here will almost certainly take them through to the next stage if CSK loses here, a lot will depend on the margin of the loss and also some of the other results.
Ruturaj Gaikwad has led his team from the front. He is the leading run-getter for CSK and is averaging 58.30 after 13 innings. He, along with Shivam Dube will be the key batsmen for the team. While there are some other quality batsmen in the CSK line-up including Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Ravindra Jadeja, and Sameer Rizvi, their form hasn’t been consistent enough.
With Moeen Ali likely to leave the team for international duties, Mitchell Santner may make a comeback in the middle order.
The key thing to remember that RCB's bowling lineup is not very good. CSK has an opportunity to be able to change things around in this match for sure.
Simarjeet Singh is proving to be a valuable asset for the team as he has picked up 5 wickets in 3 games. He will join Tushar Deshpande and Shardul Thakur in the pace department while Maheesh Theekshana and Jadeja are likely to feature in the spin attack.
CSK has been able to maximize its bowling resources so far and taken out more than what we expected from them so far.
Chennai Super Kings Playing 11
Rachin Ravindra, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Daryl Mitchell, Ajinkya Rahane, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana, Simarjeet Singh.
RCB vs CSK Toss Prediction
The team winning the toss will likely opt to bowl first.
Read our guide on toss predictions to learn how we analyze and come up with our tips.
Pitch and Conditions
The pitch at the Chinnaswamy Stadium is good to bat on. The average first-inning score here this season is over 190 runs. That said, there is likely to be some green grass and moisture on the surface that can help the seamers, especially when the ball is new.
The spinners can expect some turn during the second half.
The weather in Bangalore is likely to remain overcast and there is a good chance that we may see a few showers during the match.
RCB vs CSK Betting Tips
Both teams have been rather inconsistent this season and there is no clear favorite. However, we feel that the Royal Challengers Bangalore has an edge here. They have a good momentum going into this match and some of the team’s key players have been performing well.
Nevertheless, we can expect a close encounter between the two teams.
Bet on the Royal Challengers Bangalore to win.
Bonus Cricket Bets
Tushar Deshpande has been in good form of late. He has picked up at least 2 wickets in each of his last 4 outings. With such lucrative odds on offer, it is worth putting a bet on Deshpande.
Kohli is the leading run-scorer for this season and is averaging 66.10 in 13 innings. He was the top batsman for RCB in 2 of his last 5 outings and has a good chance of doing so again.
3 of the last 4 matches played at the Chinnaswamy Stadium have seen more than 13 wickets fall. As the batting from both sides has been a bit inconsistent, we can expect plenty of wickets in this match.
We are eager to know what you think of our match predictions, if there is anything we can do better or if you want to let us know your own predictions for the match.