It is a dead rubber clash on May 20 between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Delhi but it will decide who finishes at the bottom of the points table. While RR have messed up too many run chases, CSK have struggled to find the right balance while injury plagued their season. Despite trying as many as 22 players, CSK did not click as a team and found themselves at the bottom of the points table.
RR are unlikely to tinker with their top order which has done well for them. In the middle-order, they may bring in young South Africa batter Lhuan-dre Pretorius as replacement for either Shimron Hetmyer or Wanindu Hasaranga. Head coach Rahul Dravid has been critical of RR's bowling. Maheesh Theekshana may get another chance and replace Hasaranga. Fazalhaq Farooqi who is yet to take a wicket this season may make way for Akash Madhwal.
RR predicted playing XI plus impact player -
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson (c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Shubham Dubey, Maheesh Theekshana, Kwena Maphaka, Tushar Deshpande, Kumar Kartikeya, Akash Madhwal
CSK have used more players than any other franchise this season. Meanwhile, England all-rounders Sam Curran and Jamie Overton are not a part of the current squad. In their absence, Devon Conway is likely to return to the top order. Another change expected is Nathan Ellis coming in for Matheesha Pathirana. Dhoni also has the option of giving chances to the likes of Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shreyas Gopal and Mukesh Choudhary.
CSK predicted playing XI plus impact player -
Ayush Mhatre, Devon Conway, Urvil Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (c), R Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Nathan Ellis
CSK vs RR Pitch Report -
Irrespective of how the pitch behaves, CSK may look to bat first if they win the toss considering RR's poor record while chasing this season. The pitch at Arun Jaitley Stadium is batting friendly and a big score is expected.
CSK vs RR Full Squads -
CSK squad: Ayush Mhatre, Devon Conway, Urvil Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, MS Dhoni(w/c), Anshul Kamboj, Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana, Shivam Dube, Deepak Hooda, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tripathi, Shreyas Gopal, Rachin Ravindra, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Shaik Rasheed, Andre Siddarth C
RR squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kwena Maphaka, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Madhwal, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Shubham Dubey, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Kumar Kartikeya, Ashok Sharma, Kunal Singh Rathore,Nandre Burger, Maheesh Theekshana, Lhuan-dre Pretorius