The time for double headers is back and that indicates the weekend in India. Moving into Day 9, the story of replacements continues. Royal Challengers Bangalore have roped in South African pacer Wayne Parnell and seamer Vyshak Vijaykumar as replacements for Reece Topley and Rajat Patidar. Punjab Kings will have to wait for their star recruit Liam Livingstone till mid-April. Riley Meredith will replace all-rounder Jhye Richardson (ruled out due to hamstring injury), to play for the five-time champions Mumbai Indians. Even after completion of 8 games this season, teams have been struggling to implement the Impact Player rule well.
RAJASTHAN ROYALS (RR) VS DELHI CAPITALS (DC) AT GUWAHATI
• TEAM INFO: Rajasthan’s tactical errors did cost them the match against Punjab at this very venue, but it would have brought in a lot of confidence with the late show of Hetmyer-Jurel. While, DC have been thrashed by both Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans. After losing both their games, where they put up a no show, they will be desperate to win this one.
• Head-to-Head - Played - 26; Won by RR - 13; Won by DC – 13
• RR possible XI – Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, R Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jason Holder, Jos Buttler, SV Samson(C), Trent Boult, KM Asif, Yuzvendra Chahal
• DC possible XI – Abishek Porel(wk), SN Khan, RR Rossouw, P Shaw, David Warner(C), Aman Hakim Khan, MR Marsh, Axar Patel, KL Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, A Nortje
• Pitch & Weather Report – This will be an afternoon game; hence, dew might not have a big role here. The batters will get a lot of support from the pitch in both innings, and this might be a high-scoring game. The average first innings score in the last five T20 games at this venue has been 187 runs. With scattered clouds, it will be ideal conditions for cricket.
• Match Prediction – Delhi have been completely out of shape and fans are not able to understand why. With a coaching staff like theirs, the least that the fans wanted to worry about is strategy and that’s where they have faltered. RR look like a brilliant side and with the form that they are carrying, they will definitely be an uphill task for out of form Delhi Capitals. This is going to be a no-brainer easy win for Rajasthan Royals.
MUMBAI INDIANS (MI) VS CHENNAI SUPER KINGS (CSK) AT MUMBAI
• TEAM INFO: Mumbai Indians are back home after taking a heavy beating from the hands of unpredictable RCB, where they will face the mighty Chennai Super Kings. On the other hand, CSK after losing the season’s opening encounter to GT, came back very strongly against the LSG to open their account on the points table. On paper, MI will always start as favourites at home, but considering the current form, this is going to be way more than difficult a task, that they would be prepared for.
• Head-to-Head - Played - 34; Won by MI 20 - 1; Won by CSK – 14
• MI possible XI – Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Cameron Green, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Nehal Wadhera, Hrithik Shokeen, Piyush Chawla, Jofra Archer, Arshad Khan
• CSK possible XI – Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Shivam Dube, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, RS Hangargekar
• Pitch & Weather Report – The pitch at Wankhede Stadium is a wonderful track to bat on. The ball comes nicely onto the bat and the batters can hit through the line right from the start of their innings. The bowlers will have to bowl well to avoid damage. With temperature hovering between 28 to 35 degree celsius, it's just starting to get warm in Mumbai.
• Match Prediction – As we know that Wankhede is a ground that offers run-fest and hence it's an opportunity for MI’s out of form batters to find form and come back to party. CSK have shown that they will continue to play good quality fearless cricket, and with their premium batters in form, they are one side to beat. Most importantly, MSD have also shown signs of being back in form.
Fan Comments
“MI will need to overcome their much-talked about bowling weakness and focus on their bowling woes to stand any chance of winning against CSK. – Rajat Dewan, 56, Managing Partner, Indian.
“The much-awaited match where, Mumbai’s batting takes on Chennai’s bowling. MI will need to step up a big way after their poor show last game. Whistles at the Wankhede for sure!” – Sayooj MC, 26, HR, Indian.
“As the world knows, we Rajasthani’s are one of the best hosts in the world. We will take care of Delhi at our second home in Guwahati. But tell Delhi to forget about winning, when you come to our home, we are warriors and we know how to win our battles.” – Idris Solanki, business owner, Rajasthani-Indian.
“Life is unpredictable and with the absence of one person or player, things can’t stop. I have my sympathy for Rishabh Pant, but Delhi need to pull up their socks and get their act right at Guwahiti or RR will eat them like Dal-Bati Churma.” – Omar Sarfaraz, 35, Head of Accounting and Finance, Pakistani.
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