In the 17th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will host Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai today i.e. Wednesday, April 12 at 7:30 PM IST.
Both RR and CSK have won a couple of matches in IPL 2023, albeit Sanju Samson’s team has a higher net run rate and as a result, RR are now in the second spot on the points table. They will swiftly advance to the top of the standings if they win over CSK. However, at Chepauk, one can only dare to challenge the four-time IPL winners.
As the captain of the Super Kings, MS Dhoni will be on the pitch for the 200th time. Dhoni’s CSK also had a successful return home to Chepauk, winning by 12 runs against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and then easily defeating Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium the previous week. The Chennai-based team’s star player in their previous match was Ravindra Jadeja, who took three wickets and conceded only 20 runs in his four overs. Ajinkya Rahane, on the other side, struck a fantastic 61 off just 27 balls for CSK in the run chase as well. Talking about concerns for CSK, Deepak Chahar and Ben Stokes are both injured. Nevertheless, Sri Lankan spinner Maheesh Theekshana is expected to be available and thus he will be an enticing option for the captain cool to play at home.
The Royals, on the other hand, have been one of the teams to beat in the competition thanks to players like Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal who are consistently at the top of their games. RR will start as the minutely preferred side since they have a potent spin attack to fall back on. They will, however, face a challenge while playing the Super Kings, who will rely on home advantage. Rajasthan’s triumph over Delhi Capitals (DC) featured standout performances from Jos Buttler (79) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (60). With three wickets each, Trent Boult and Yuzvendra Chahal were the RR’s top two bowlers. In Chennai, a thrilling match is anticipated as both teams strive to maintain their momentum.
Head-to-Head:
In the head-to-head competition, CSK has the upper hand. The two teams played 26 games, with Chennai winning 15 and the Rajasthan-based team winning 11 times. Notably, RR last defeated the host in Chennai in the inaugural season of the IPL in 2008. In their last outing, which took place in the league stage of the 2022 season, RR won by five runs.
Where-to-watch:
TV: Star Sports Network
OTT: JioCinema