Given the right conditions, the Chennai Super Kings’ bowling can be incisive. Deepak Chahar and company can inflict some serious damage.
Like the other night at the Wankhede. There was some seam movement and Chahar, his fingers behind the seam and wrist position exemplary, scalped four in a vicious opening burst against Punjab Kings.
Chahar will once again be a threat when CSK takes on Rajasthan Royals on what could be a lively Wankhede pitch on Monday. The Chennai franchise also has the left-arm swing of the versatile Sam Curran.
Rajasthan Royals too is coming off a win, clinching a humdinger against a strong Delhi Capitals. That was a game when the batting heroics of South African all-rounder Chris Morris settled the issue.
The victory over Punjab Kings notwithstanding, CSK needs to iron out chinks. There are lessons to be learnt from wins too. Ruturaj Gaikwad made a fine impression last season with his cultured strokeplay. This time around, the opener, rather loose outside off, is being taken out early.
M.S. Dhoni, though, believes in giving his players a run.
Suresh Raina will be keenly watched. The southpaw appeared vulnerable when Punjab Kings pacemen probed him with short-pitched deliveries. Raina eventually perished to a lifter.
Raina has a stupendous record in the IPL but is bound to be targeted with short-pitched bowling from the Royals.
On the positive side, Moeen Ali has been stroking beautifully, and bowling his off-spinners efficiently. RR will be without two key players - Jofra Archer is injured and Ben Stokes is out of the IPL.
But then, skipper Sanju Samson, who appears to be settling into his role well, is in roaring form. The side, however, seeks runs from the game-changing Jos Buttler. Then there is the Morris factor. This could be a mouth-watering clash.
The squads
CSK: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Sam Curran, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Robin Uthappa, Cheteshwar Pujara, Karn Sharma, Imran Tahir, Krishnappa Gowtham, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Hari Nishanth, N Jagadeesan, KM Asif, Harishankar Reddy, Bhagath Varma, Jason Behrendorff
RR: Jos Buttler, Manan Vohra, Sanju Samson(w/c), Shivam Dube, David Miller, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Jaydev Unadkat, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman, Andrew Tye, Shreyas Gopal, Liam Livingstone, KC Cariappa, Mahipal Lomror, Mayank Markande, Anuj Rawat, Kartik Tyagi, Kuldip Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Akash Singh
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