Navi Mumbai: After suffering four consecutive defeats, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will have to perform better in every area of the game to regain their lost confidence in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) here on Tuesday. . Head coach Stephen Fleming has also admitted that four consecutive defeats have shaken the confidence of the defending champions.
Four-time champions Chennai have not played the kind of cricket they are known for under Ravindra Jadeja’s leadership. Jadeja has so far failed to lead from the front. Senior players like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu and Dwayne Bravo will have to shoulder more responsibility in this crisis situation. CSK have scored more than 200 runs in one match so far but their batsmen could not run in the remaining three matches. They will now face RCB’s formidable bowling attack which includes spinners Wanindu Hasaranga, David Willey and Mohammad Siraj.
Young Ruturaj Gaikwad is yet to walk and needs to play a big innings. All-rounders Moeen Ali and Shivam Dubey will also have to take more responsibility. Fleming admitted that the team is missing pacer Deepak Chahar, who has not played any match due to injury. “Availability of players is an issue and we have so far underperformed in all three departments – batting, bowling and fielding. We need reforms in all departments.”
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RCB on the other hand have done well in all departments so far and the team is full of confidence. Opener Anuj Rawat scored a half-century against Mumbai Indians while Virat Kohli also scored. Captain Faf du Plessis is capable of tearing apart any attack. All the three batsmen of RCB’s top order are in good form right now.
Dinesh Karthik has been playing the role of ‘finisher’ for RCB and engineer-turned-cricketer Shahbaz Ahmed has also impressed with his performance so far. Barring Bravo, no one else has been able to impress in Chennai’s bowlers. Mukesh Chaudhary has proved to be the weak link for him so far.
The teams are as follows:
Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja (Captain), Moeen Ali, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Ambati Rayudu, Robin Uthappa, Mitchell Santner, Chris Jordan, Adam Milne, Devon Conway, Shivam Dubey, Dwayne Pretorius, Mahesh Tikshan, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Tushar Deshpande, KM Asif, C Hari Nishant, N Jagadeesan, Subranshu Senapati, K Bhagat Verma, Prashant Solanki, Simarjit Singh, Mukesh Chaudhary.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammad Siraj, Faf du Plessis, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasranga, Dinesh Karthik, Josh Hazlewood, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Behrendorff, Suyash Prabhudesai, Chama Milind , Anishwar Gautam, Karn Sharma, David Willey, Rajat Patidar, Siddharth Kaul.
The match will start at 7.30 pm.