IPL 2020: CSK vs RR Preview – Bottom-placed teams seek upward movement

MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings and Steve Smith’s Rajasthan Royals will take on each other at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Match 25 of IPL 2020. Both the teams have won just 3 out of 9 matches, and are languishing in the bottom half of the table. Chennai lost to Delhi by 5 wickets, while Rajasthan lost to Bangalore by 7 wickets – with both games going down to the final over.

Chennai Super Kings have had a disappointing campaign this time around. It’s been rare when all three departments have clicked simultaneously for them. Captain Dhoni is unable to replicate his former self with the bat. Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals have made some shocking decisions themselves. They have changed their playing XI and batting order very frequently, which is a major reason why they have lacked consistency yet again.

Match Info:

Match 37- CSK vs RR

Venue- Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Time – 7:30 PM IST

Head To Head:

Stat Attack:

MS Dhoni will become the first player in IPL to play 200 matches.

MS Dhoni needs six runs to complete 4000 runs for CSK in IPL, will become the 2nd player after Suresh Raina.

Ravindra Jadeja has taken 16 wickets against RR at an avg of 21.50, his best against a current IPL opponent.

Team News:

Chennai Super Kings:

Many eyebrows were raised when Dhoni gave Jadeja the final over, against Delhi Capitals with two left-handers on the crease. It was later clarified by Dhoni and Fleming that Dwayne Bravo was not fit enough to bowl the final over, and the decision boiled down to giving Jadeja or Karn Sharma that over. Their fielding was also pretty poor- Dhawan got multiple chances as he smashed his way to his maiden T20 hundred. They need to win almost all games from here on if they want to stay in contention for the playoffs this season.

Rajasthan Royals:

Captain Steve Smith has baffled fans and critics with the type of decisions he has taken. Rajasthan tried their 5th opening pair in 9 innings against RCB. Explosive batsman Jos Butler was sent in at number 5, while Ben Stokes was made to open the innings. And when RCB needed 35 off the final 2 overs, he handed over the ball to Jaydev Unadkat who conceded 25 runs in the over. Rajasthan are practically out of the playoffs race with 6 defeats, however, a win here could probably help their chances if they have other results going in their favour.

Probable XI: