IPL 2019: Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals - Match Preview

The Indian Premier League caravan is set to reach back to Chennai where it all started. Chennai Super Kings will host Rajasthan Royals at the Chepauk Stadium tomorrow in the 12th fixture of the IPL 2019. The hosts will be looking to make it three wins in a row while Rajasthan Royals will try to register their first win of the campaign. Both the teams will collide with each other for the first time in this edition of the IPL.

Chennai Super Kings are flying high after winning two games back-to-back in this edition of the IPL. With match winners like Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, and Dwayne Bravo in their ranks, MS Dhoni is well on course to lead his troops to another IPL glory. The reigning champions outplayed Delhi Capitals in their previous encounter to register a 6-wicket comfortable win. Dwayne Bravo picked three crucial wickets while Shane Watson scored quickfire 44(26) in the second innings to take CSK over the line. The hosts would be eyeing for the same kind of dominant performance in front of their home crowd when they take on the Royals.

Rajasthan Royals, on the other hand, have been unfortunate since the beginning of this tournament. Having lost their opening match, the Royals failed to defend 198 runs in their last game against the Sunrisers. Sanju Samson became the first player to score a century in this IPL but his scintillating knock of 102*(55) went in vain. Rahane & co. have played some good cricket in both the matches, but unfortunately, the results didn’t go their way. The visitors would be hoping to bounce back against the mighty CSK in the upcoming game.

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Game details

Date: Sunday, March 31, 2019

Time: 08:00 PM IST

Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

League: Indian Premier League

Live Telecast: Star Network

Online Streaming: Hotstar

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Head to Head

Total Matches Played – 20

RR – 8

CSK – 12

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Team News

Chennai Super Kings

• No changes are expected in CSK’s starting lineup.
• Ambati Rayudu and Shane Watson will open for the home side.

Rajasthan Royals

• The visitors can make a few changes in this fixture.
• Varun Aaron might feature in the playing XI to strengthen their bowling line up.

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Squads

Chennai Super Kings – Harbhajan Singh, Shane Watson, Dwayne Bravo, MS Dhoni (c), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Murali Vijay, Karn Sharma, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu, David Willey, Imran Tahir, Faf du Plessis, Deepak Chahar, Sam Billings, Mohit Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Dhruv Shorey, Monu Kumar, Mitchell Santner, Chaitanya Bishnoi, N Jagadeesan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KM Asif

Rajasthan Royals – Ajinkya Rahane (c), Dhawal Kulkarni, Stuart Binny, Steven Smith, Jos Buttler, Varun Aaron, Jaydev Unadkat, Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson, Manan Vohra, Prashant Chopra, Ashton Turner, Ish Sodhi, Krishnappa Gowtham, Rahul Tripathi, Shreyas Gopal, Liam Livingstone, Shashank Singh, Mahipal Lomror, Shubham Ranjane, Oshane Thomas, Jofra Archer, Riyan Parag, Aryaman Birla, Sudhesan Midhun

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Key Players

Chennai Super Kings

1. Shane Watson
2. Suresh Raina
3. Dwayne Bravo

Rajasthan Royals

1. Jos Buttler
2. Sanju Samson
3. Jofra Archer

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Probable Playing XI

Chennai Super Kings – Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (C/WK), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir

Rajasthan Royals – Ajinkya Rahane (C), Jos Buttler (WK), Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, Rahul Tripathi, K Gowtham, Jofra Archer, JaydevUnadkat, Shreyas Gopal, Dhawal Kulkarni.