The double header on Sunday is going to start with a cracker at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Royal Challengers Bangalore has been near flawless in IPL 2021, while Chennai Super Kings have got back their mojo by winning three in a row. The winner of the clash between RCB and CSK will certainly stay at the top of the table.
RCB has been very convincing in all their four victories in IPL 2021. They are the only team to remain unbeaten this season. The batting unit looks much stronger after Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal got crucial runs under their belt in the game against Rajasthan Royals. Mohammed Siraj has been performing brilliantly with the ball, making RCB a much more formidable outfit since all bases are covered.
On the other hand, Chennai has also been in outstanding form after getting hammered by Delhi Capitals in the first game. The openers for CSK also finally clicked in the last game against Kolkata Knight Riders. Deepak Chahar has been lethal with the ball in powerplay overs, but death bowling remains a concern for MS Dhoni.
Chennai has got the better of RCB in IPL until now. In 26 games played between these two sides, RCB has suffered defeat nine times, while CSK has come out on top in 16 games. Getting a win on Sunday will be a big step towards making it to the playoffs for RCB and also gives them a reason to dream this season.
CSK will be without Jason Behrendorff for this game since he is yet to get out of the quarantine, while Bangalore has the complete squad available for selection on Sunday.
Predicted Teams
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (c and wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Lungi Ngidi
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (c), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Washington Sundar, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Kane Richardson, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
Key Battle to watch out
Deepak Chahar has been in sensational form for Chennai in powerplay overs. He has managed to take eight wickets in powerplay overs. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli was back to his best against Rajasthan Royals, so Chahar vs Kohli is going to be an intriguing battle in powerplay overs. If Kohli and RCB manage to keep Chahar quiet, then they will considerably improve their chances of winning the game.