It will be a special atmosphere at Chinnaswamy Stadium as the two teams battle for momentum
Published Date – Mon, 04/17/23 at 06:40 AM
Virat Kohli of Royal Challengers Bengaluru with captain Faf du Plessis during a training session. — Photo: PTI
Bangalore: Chennai Super Kings will be looking to pick up the pace in the middle and will hope their inspirational skipper MS Dhoni recovers from a knee injury against fierce rivals Royal Challengers Bangalore in the eagerly anticipated southern derby of the IPL here on Monday.
It will be a special atmosphere at Chinnaswamy Stadium as both teams battle for momentum after an up-and-down game so far. The knee has plagued Dhoni since the start of the tournament, but he has played in all four games so far. CSK chief executive Kasi Viswanathan wants the skipper to get ahead of RCB. “I don’t think he’s going to miss the game, but we’ll have to wait until tomorrow night,” he said.
Dhoni was seen limping a bit after a home loss to Rajasthan Royals earlier this week, raising questions about his fitness for RCB. Although Dhoni had been batting at No. 8, he managed to make an impact and nearly sent his team over the line in the last over against the Royals.
Openers Ruturaj Gaikward and Devon Conway have been doing their jobs, and Ajinkya Rahane also seems to be reinventing himself at bat three, but the middle needs to do more. The likes of Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja were unavailable. Dube in particular struggled to get fluency in all four of his innings, which was reflected in his 118.84 batting average.
The bowling department has been hit by injuries, first they lost Deepak Chahar and now Sisanda Magala is expected to miss at least two weeks. Star all-rounder Ben Stokes is likely to be back to full health by the end of the month.
RCB, on the other hand, picked up a much-needed win on Saturday afternoon and will be aiming to get better against Delhi Capitals. Virat Kohli’s form is the biggest positive for them. Kohli collecting boundaries with his fine wide play was enough to cause discomfort in the opposition camp and will be set ablaze against CSK. Skipper Faf du Plessis also led from the front while batting with Kohli.
Like CSK, RCB’s mid laner has yet to realize its potential. Glenn Maxwell’s batting average is impressive, but the likes of Shahbaz Ahmed and Mahipal Lomror can do better. After a stellar performance last season, Dinesh Karthik has struggled in the finisher role and is eager to change that.
With the ball, Mohammed Siraj has been an excellent bowler and was brilliant in the opening game against Delhi. The team is hoping its death specialist Harshal Patel can return to his best form, having allowed close to 11 points in each of his past four games.
