Introduction-
IPL 2023 is at the halfway stage, as all the teams have played half of the league stage matches. And as it turned out, the race to the playoffs is as competitive as it can get. In match 37 of IPL 2023, the table toppers Chennai Super Kings will tussle with Rajasthan Royals (placed at number 3). Will CSK be able to continue their winning streak and win their fourth match consecutively, or will the Rajasthan Royals taste success after losing two matches in a row? Here is the match preview.
Team Preview-
Chennai Super Kings-
Notwithstanding all the injury concerns and weak bowling unit, the Men in Yellow has put on a splendid performance so far. The current table toppers have won three matches on the trot, and they are one of only three teams, in this competition so far, to win three games in a row. Two others are Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians. If not for that narrow 3 runs defeat against Royals, this winning stretch of CSK would have been as long as 6 matches at the moment.
In a league full of star international players (Indian & foreigners), many of CSK players, who are not considered as mainstream International cricketers, now or yet, like Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Singh, Mathisa Pathirana, have caught everyone’s eye with their spectacular outings.
Ajinkya Rahane, having not played at recognised stage for a while, has pounced on the chance to bat at number three for CSK, and one can expect more performance like this from his bat. Shivam Dube has been given the role of an aggressor in the middle overs, and he has torn apart opposition bowlers with his monster six hitting. With 15 sixes in 6 innings so far, Dube is only behind Ruturaj Gaikwad (17 Sixes) to hit most sixes for CSK.
In the absence of Mukesh Chaudhary, and at some stage, Deepak Chahar, likes of Tushar Despande & Akash Singh have stood up to produce stellar performances with the ball, with the latter is duly placed at number 4 in the list of most Wickets in this season so far. The Lankan young pacer Matheesa Pathirana has been able to remind fans of Lasith Malinga, as he has bowled good yorkers with commendable pace.
Rajasthan Royals-
Two close defeats have jolted the Royals' happy journey a bit. The thing which would be worrying for them is that two of their three defeats so far have come while chasing the target. On the other hand, they were quite brilliant to chase down a stiff target against a potent attack of Gujarat Titans.
With Padikkal getting half century against RCB in the previous match, Royals seem all sorted on batting front, as Joss Buttler, Yashahvi Jaiswal, & Sanju Samson have showed good forms at the top already, while Shimron Hetmeyer & Dhruv Jurel have been effective down the order.
On the bowling front, Royals seem to have no issue at all, as all of their bowlers have performed pretty effectively. Trent Boult has been firing with the new ball, so is Sandeep Sharma. Ashwin and Chahal have been able to strangle opposition batsmen in their spin trap.
Probable Playing XIs-
Chennai Super Kings:
Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Matheesha Pathirana, Akash Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana (Impact sub- Ambati Rayudu, Rajvardhan Hangargekar)
Rajasthan Royals:
Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (C & WK), Shimron Hetmeyer, Dhruv Jurel, R Ashwin, Jason Holder, Trent Boult, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal (Impact subs- Abdul Basith, Riyan Parag, Murugan Ashwin, KM Asif)
Interesting facts and Milestones-
- Ruturaj Gaikwad needs 23 runs to compete 1500 IPL runs
- Ajinkya Rahane has hit 449 fours in IPL
- Shivam Dube has hit 53 Sixes & 54 Fours in his IPL career so far.
- Shimron Hetmeyer has hit more sixes than fours in his IPL career- 67 Sixes and 62 Fours.
- In the last 6 meetings between CSK & RR, the latter have been victorious 5 times.
Pitch and Weather Report-
In the first match of the season at Jaipur, between LSG and RR, saw LSG successfully defending the total of 154 against a mighty batting unit of RR. The pitch here won’t support free flowing stroke making, and another low scoring affair can be anticipated. The temperature will hover around 26 degree celsius during the match time. Weather can be a little cloudy but there is no chance of rain.
Venue- Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
Date & Time- 27th May 2023, 7:30 PM Onwards
Live Streaming- Star Sports Network & Jio Cinema
Dream XI Team-
