In the second game of today's double header, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). India's captain vs his predecessor is a clash to watch out for as the two captains are the leading run-scorers of the league against their opponent in this game.
In numerous unexpected things that are happening in 2020, a prominent one for cricket fans is that MS Dhoni's CSK find themselves in the bottom half of the IPL points table.
CSK has looked unsarcastically out of colour for the major part of the tournament, and have failed to remedy their issues even after 6 games, something that has not happened in the league, ever.
Dhoni has still continued to back the same players, and we did see a glimpse of what they can do in the game against Kings XI Punjab where their openers made a mockery of the likes of Mohammad Shami, Sheldon Cottrell and Chris Jordan, and chased 178 without losing any wickets.
RCB also have a mixed record, with 6 points in 5 games. Isuru Udana's inclusion in 11, handing the ball to Washington Sundar in the powerplay are the kind of moves that have helped the team find winning ways.
Chris Morris' return would further strengthen the squad as he would walk directly into the squad and replace Moeen Ali.
CSK's only hope is for them to fire as a unit. Even in their last game against Kolkata, they lost their way after a decent start in a moderate chase. To not be able to finish well is something that can rarely be associated with Thala's side. They also need to raise the fielding quality of their squad as even the likes of Ravindra Jadeja have dropped catches and missed direct hits.
RCB would look to capitalise on their players who have started to find form. A win today would help them break back into the top half of the table.
The question remains, which CSK would turn up in this game, CSK of 2020 or CSK of 2008 through 2019?
Likely 11s:
CSK: Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (c, wk), Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Karn Sharma
RCB: Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Chris Morris, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Isuru Udana/Adam Zampa, Mohammad Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal
