Teams Status
Rajasthan Royals
After losing three of their first four games of the season, Rajasthan Royals have shown a bit of resurgence of late, winning two of their last three matches and climbing to fifth on the points table.
During this sequence, both the sides they’ve beaten (Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad) are dwelling at the bottom of the table. Sandwiched between those win, when they met a contender in the form of Mumbai Indians, they were brushed aside by seven wickets, which goes to prove that Rajasthan are well and truly a mid-table side too strong for the rubbish but too rubbish for the strong.
The man responsible for their last win, the one over Sunrisers Hyderabad, was Jos Buttler, who smashed a 64-ball 124 to help his side to a gargantuan 220. The Englishman was due a big knock but no one thought it’d be this big and monstrous.
While CSK certainly represent a much bigger challenge than KKR, innings like Buttler’s are capable of being a catalyst for something bigger. Thus, this game against CSK comes as an instant litmus test for Rajasthan.
Chennai Super Kings
After the aberration of last season, normal service has resumed for Chennai Super Kings. The MS Dhoni-led side has proven that what happened last year (finishing second to last) was a one-off occurrence. At the halfway mark of round robin stage this year, CSK are near the summit of the points table and back being the contender we had known them to be – until last year.
They did lose their last game, which was against Mumbai Indian, but the manner of the victory means they will not be too worried. Not only did they amass 218 runs, it needed a Kieron Pollard special for Mumbai to beat Chennai, and that too happened on the final ball of the match.
CSK found runs from different sources as well, with Ambati Rayudu contributing a brilliant 72 off 27 and Moeen Ali 58 off 36.
Granted that they lost but Pollard, in the mood he was, could have dismantled just about any bowling attack in the world.
Chennai, against a mid-table opposition, would want to settle for nothing less than a victory here.
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