CSK, Royals clash in top of the table encounter (Preview)

(From left) Shane Watson and Ravindra Jadeja

Ahmedabad, April 18 (IANS) A top-of-the-table clash awaits cricketing fans as Rajasthan Royals (RR) meet two-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a high-voltage Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at the Sardar Patel Stadium here on Sunday.

Both teams have a 100 percent winning record so far this season with CSK having played three matches, one short of the Royals.

Super Kings' last win against the Mumbai Indians came on Friday night at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, chasing a formidable total of 183/7. The men-in-yellow got over the line with ease with six wickets and 20 deliveries in hand.

Royals, on the other hand, had to face a few setbacks in their hunt for 127 runs against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last encounter. They eventually got home on the last ball, courtesy a James Faulkner boundary.

The Chennai-based team will once again rely on their batting firepower with New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum and West Indies opener Dwayne Smith joining forces atop the batting order. Both have come good in the last few games with the former even scoring a hundred.

The middle order looks set to sizzle too with the likes of South African Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Bowling can be a concern for the Dhoni-led side as neither pacer Mohit Sharma nor his peer Ishwar Pandey have been consistent with the leather. The only exception has been old war horse Ashish Nehra, who is utilising his experience to the limit. The left-arm seamer picked up 3/23 in his last outing.

The Royals, on the other hand, will look to continue basking on their 'royal' glory that they have clinched off late, winning four games in a row. The Steve Smith-led team has hardly put a foot wrong in the absence of their regular skipper Shane Watson. But they know they will have muddy patches to tread through when they face the formidable CSK side.

The Royals would want their talismanic stand-in skipper to come good, backed by some strong performances from youngsters Sanju Samson and Deepak Hooda.

The bowling line-up too looks strong with New Zealand pacer Tim Southee leading the pack. For the company, he has the likes of medio Dhawal Kulkarni and Australian all-rounder James Faulkner. Pravin Tambe, the 43-year-old leg spinner, also has been at his best too.

The squads:

Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohit Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Baba Aparajith, Ishwar Pandey, Mithun Minhas, Pawan Negi, Ronit More, Rahul Sharma, Ankush Bains, Irfan Pathan, Pratyush Singh, Ekalavya Dwivedi, Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Michael Hussey, Matt Henry, Samuel Badree, Kyle Abbott, Andrew Tye.

Rajasthan Royals: Shane Watson (captain), Abhishek Nayar, Ajinkya Rahane, Ankit Nagendra Sharma, Deepak Hooda, Dhawal Kulkarni, Dishant Yagnik, Karun Nair, Pravin Tambe, Rahul Tewatia, Rajat Bhatia, Sanju Samson, Barinder Singh Saran, Dinesh Salunkhe, Sagar Trivedi, Pardeep Sahu, Stuart Binny, Vikramjeet Malik, Ben Cutting, James Faulkner, Steven Smith, Tim Southee, Chris Morris, Juan Theron.