Pranav Mehta
IPL STROKES
RCB VS RR AT BENGALURU
TEAM INFO – RCB, who have been the most unpredictable team of IPL so far, have had a mixed emotion this year as well with 3 wins from 6 games. On the other hand, it's Rajasthan who have been on a dream run since last season. This season they have 4 wins from 6 games and are leading the points table.
Rajasthan did win 3 back-to-back games, before they were pulled back by the brilliance of Lucknow in a low-scoring game.
Head-to-Head - Played - 28; Won by RCB – 13; Won by RR – 12; No Result - 3
RCB possible XI – Virat Kohli, Faf Du Plesis, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik, Wanindu Hasaranga, Suyash Prabhudessai, Harshal Patel, Wayne Parnell, Mohd Siraj
RR possible XI – Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandra Ashwin, Jason Holder, Trent Boult, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzi Chahal
Pitch & Weather Report - The M Chinnaswamy Stadium has been known to be batting friendly, but has provided a little assistance for new ball bowlers this season. However, all the matches except for the lone noon match so far have seen sixes rain
in Bengaluru.
Match Prediction – RCB's biggest concern is the lack of quality in the lower middle order. Although, to their advantage, they have a good bowling attack and the winning mantra is chasing. Although, Rajasthan Royals are a team to beat and I don’t really think that RCB have the quality to beat them. This one should be a high-scoring win for Rajasthan.
KKR VS CSK AT KOLKATA
TEAM INFO – Kolkata are in a dilemma with just 2 wins from 4 games and they are still to find a correct combination. Surely, it’s the absence of Shreyas Iyer, that’s being felt. Although, it goes without saying that KKR are an incredibly strong team with a lot of match winners. On a given day, they are capable of beating the best. On the other hand, Chennai have 4 wins from 6 games and stands third in the points table. Chennai are on a roll with 4 wins from the last 5 games and the one that they lost was a close encounter against the strong Rajasthani team.
Head-to-Head - Played - 27; Won by CSK – 17; Won by KKR – 9; No Result - 1
KKR possible XI – Jason Roy, Litton Das (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Mandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Kulwant Khejroliya, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
CSK possible XI – Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c, wk), Mahesh Theeksana, Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Singh
Pitch & Weather Report - The Eden Gardens surface is well-known for its batting-friendly wickets. Because of the stadium's small size, it is a high-scoring venue in the shortest format of the game. Notably, the team which prefers to bowl first has a better
chance of winning at this venue.
Match Prediction – Chennai are on a roll and they are definitely the team to beat this season. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is unbelievably good at utilising his resources and that is the biggest boon for Chennai. Chennai might be playing at Kolkata’s Eden
Gardens but it's going to be like a home ground support for him, irrespective of wherever he goes. Kolkata have a lot of concerns to solve and don’t really think that they have it in them to beat the brains of Dhoni, so it's going to be Chennai all the way!
Fan Comments
“Eid Mubarak to all. Being an Omani, I have been a big fan of cricket because of Mahendra Singh Dhoni bhai and I really hope that he doesn’t retire this season. This season he has looked incredible and I am sure that 'Men in Yellow' will lift the trophy.” – Fahad Khamis al Mushaifry,32, Businessman, Omani.
“I have been a hardcore fan of MSD, who has played an integral role in transformation of the Indian cricket to where it is. He has been the reason that, the Indian name has found so much glory on the world map. Kolkata is going to be dressed and decorated in yellow to welcome Dhoni’s army. – Sanjit Kanojia, 35, Businessman, Indian.
“I am a hardcore Mumbai Indians fan since day one, and they have always done justice to their fan base with the number of trophies in the cabinet. Last few years have been tough, after the restructuring auctions. But then this is Mumbai and we are known for getting things right, no matter where we are. – Jaypal Udeshi, 39, Call Centre Executive, Indian.
“I am a big fan of cricket and over the years, I have cracked the fact that, if you really want to enjoy cricket then it's best to be neutral. One thing that I am really looking forward to see is the Russell Muscle at Kolkata.” -- Pinank Sampat, 37, Business Owner/DJ Sampat, Indian.
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