Half of the IPL season is finished and Chennai Super Kings is the table topper followed by defending champions Gujarat Titans. They both have 10 points in 7 matches. Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants are the other teams in the top 4 with 8 points.
Faf Du Plessis is easily the best batsman so far with several bowlers competing for the same. Siraj has dominated the powerplay bowling, Arshdeep is brilliant in death and Rashid has been performing well too.
So, we are in leg 2 of IPL 2023 and the second match (Match 37) will see Chennai Super Kings taking on Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur. A win for CSK would retain their number one spot but Rajasthan can be the new table toppers if they defeat them.
Team Preview
Rajasthan Royals
This is proving a second continuous season in the favour of Rajasthan Royals. They are on the way to making a playoff appearance again after their runners-up performance last year.
Rajasthan’s top 4 and Hetmeyer are in top form but not making runs collectively have cost them some matches. Trent Boult is bowling great in powerplay but needs to do better in the death overs. With 12 wickets, Chahal is 4th highest wicket-taker and would aim to grab the top spot in the match against CSK.
Chennai Super Kings
A bottom 2 finish in the last season followed by a top spot till the mid-season in this IPL. CSK have made a great comeback this season and their batting performance is the main reason for this.
Both of their openers are performing continuously with Shivam Dubey playing some game-changing knocks too. Rahane’s addition has solidified their batting unit with Moeen, Jadeja and Dhoni as other batsmen. Tushar Deshpande is their lead pace bowler with 12 wickets with Jadeja as their other prominent performer in the bowling department.
Pitch/Venue Report
The match would be played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
- Total Matches Played-48
- Matches Won Batting First-16
- Matches Won Batting Second-32
- Average First Innings Score-158
It would be the second match of the season being played on this ground. Lucknow defeated Rajasthan in the last match by 10 runs but the overall record favours the team chasing. The pitch offers movement for pacers initially in the match and the amount of bounce on the ground is also high.
Probable Playing XI
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (C & WK), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jorel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jason Holder, Trent Boult, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal
Chennai Super Kings: Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dubey, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana
Players to Watch Out For
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Two back-to-back 40+ knocks but a big one is still waiting for Yashasvi Jaiswal. Against CSK, Jaiswal has 2 50s in 4 matches and has 125 runs with 150+ SR. He is the second-highest run-scorer for Rajasthan in IPL 2023 with 227 runs (SR near 140).
Yuzvendra Chahal
Leading wicket-taker for RR and 4th overall this season. Chahal has replicated his last season’s form and has clinched 12 wickets this IPL. His role in middle overs is very crucial for RR but citing his good record against CSK’s top order, he can be used earlier in the innings too.
Devon Conway
After Faf, he is the highest run-scorer in this season’s IPL. 314 runs in 7 matches and that too at an SR of 143+. He and Gaikwad need to play Boult well so CSK doesn’t lose early wickets and have their grip on the game. Ruturaj-Conway opening pair has the most runs this season after Faf-Kohli.
Ajinkya Rahane
Rahane has unleashed his best version in this year’s IPL. In 5 matches played so far, he has hammered 209 runs at a staggering Strike Rate of 199 (contrary to his overall IPL SR of 123). Rahane has played a major portion of his career for Rajasthan Royals and a good knock against his former franchise would enhance his already high confidence.
Ravindra Jadeja
Jadeja was performing well in previous IPL seasons with the bat, but his performance with the ball this time is top-class. Except for the match against RCB, he has bowled beautifully in each match. In this season, he has taken 10 wickets with an economy of just 7.33.
Key Matchups
Ajinkya Rahane vs Ravichandran Ashwin: Runs-52, Balls-42, Dismissals-5
Ajinkya Rahane vs Yuzvendra Chahal: Runs-43, Balls-40, Dismissals-3
Ajinkya Rahane vs Trent Boult: Runs-35, Balls-36, Dismissals-3
Ruturaj Gaikwad vs Trent Boult: Runs-22, Balls-24, Dismissals-3
Ruturaj Gaikwad vs Yuzvendra Chahal: Runs-30, Balls-26, Dismissals-2
Sanju Samson vs Ravindra Jadeja: Runs-64, Balls-42, Dismissals-3
RR vs CSK Dream11 Team
Note: This is not our final Dream11 Team as we are not aware of the Toss Result/Final Playing XI of both teams at this moment.
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