IPL5: Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore – Match Preview
After facing the worst defeat in the history of their IPL campaign on Tuesday, the defending champions, Chennai Super Kings, will be looking forward to set things right when they play last year’s co-finalists Royal Challengers Bangalore at home on Thursday,
April 12, 2012.
Both the sides go into Thursday’s match at the back of massive crushings in their previous outings. The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led CSK had earlier slumped to a massive 8-wicket loss at the hands of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Delhi-c780 Daredevils, while donned in red, Daniel Vettori and
Co, suffered a hefty 42-run defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders.
In their previous match against Virender Sehwag-led Daredevils in Delhi, the two time IPL champions, Chennai, fell short on all counts as neither their batsmen nor their bowlers could take charge of the proceedings. After being restricted to 110 for 8 in
their quota of 20 overs, the CSK bowlers failed to contain Sehwag and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KP-Pietersen-c1806, as the hosts won the match quite comfortably with 11 wickets and more than six overs to spare. This was Chennai’s second defeat in three games, as they sit sixth on the
points table.
RCB too are coming into Thursday’s crunch game on the back of a morale sapping 42-run defeat to KKR at home a couple of days ago and must be aiming to get themselves back on the winning track when they meet CSK at MA Chidambaram Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
With a win and loss in two games played so far, the Royal Challengers currently stand number seven on the IPL5 points table, just behind Chennai.
The return of explosive West Indian batsman Chris Gayle at the top of order, in the match against KKR, failed to pay dividends as he could manage just 2 runs before falling to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JH-Kallis-c1692 and things continued to go downhill from there. Bangalore's batting
failed miserably against the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Lakshmipathy-Balaji-c72130 led attack as they could manage just 123 for 9 in reply to Knight Riders’ 165.
Dhoni’s men paid the price for a shoddy all-round performance against Daredevils. However, their batting is unlikely to undergo a major overhaul, given most of their batsmen were run-out in the previous match. Faf du Plessis is most likely to open Chennai’s
innings, however http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028 will constitute the middle-order as usual.
Though the CSK attack struggled for penetration in the previous match, the hosts are likely to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Adrian-Roger-Kirshaw-Pierson-c42135 with the same bowling combination that played in the last two games.
Despite a poor show in previous match, the tourists are unlikely to make any major change to their batting line-up. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/CA-Pujara-c1209 is likely to get another chance to open with the belligerent Gayle, while the recently promoted Indian vice-captain Virat
Kohli, along with South African http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AB-de-Villiers-c887 and Sourabh Tiwary, will marshal the RCB middle-order .
Former http://www.senore.com/Cricket/CH-Gayle-c1221, AB de Villiers and Muttiah Muralitharan are holding onto their respective spots quite well.
Their bowling arsenal, featuring the likes of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/M-Muralitharan-c1864 is quite efficient as it is, and the IPL-4 finalists should stick with it, barring injuries or illness.
The Chepauk wicket used for the season’s curtain raiser had plenty of grass and after the match the home skipper and coach admitted that they were deceived by the revamped wicket. With the hosts relying heavily on spin, a tinge of green today could once
again prove disastrous for them.
Probable XIs:
Chennai Super Kings: 1 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DE-Bollinger-c1348
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Chris Gayle, 2 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/A-Mithun-c41242, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sreenath-Aravind-c2559/J Syed Mohammad
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