IPL 2019, RR vs CSK: Ground stats, head-to-head record, key players and predicted XI

Rajasthan Royals are set to host the reigning champions Chennai Super Kings at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in a thrilling contest tonight. The hosts will be desperate to return to winning ways, while the Yellow Army will be determined to retain their spot at the top of the points table. In the previous meeting between the two teams earlier in the season, CSK recorded an 8-run victory over RR at the Chepauk.

Rajasthan Royals made a horrible start to their IPL campaign this time around. Ajinkya Rahane has been sluggish since the beginning of the campaign both with the bat and his captaincy. Having won just a single match in their first five outings, they are languishing in the second-last spot in the points table. RR were outplayed once again in their previous encounter by the Kolkata Knight Riders as they lost the fixture by eight wickets. Steve Smith played an impressive knock of an unbeaten 73 but his gritty innings was not enough to take them over the line. Rajasthan Royals would be hoping to land a counterpunch when they host the Chennai Super Kings in tonight's game.

Chennai Super Kings have shown once again why they are a notch above the rest of the IPL teams. With five wins and a sole defeat in their opening six games, the defending champions are sitting at the top of the IPL table. MS Dhoni has made sure that his troops play sensible and consistent cricket, a trait which helped them clinch their third IPL title last year. CSK bowlers have been in terrific form as they have led the team to a few victories with their dynamic performances. Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar and Harbhajan Singh find themselves in the Purple Cap race with 9, 8 and 7 wickets respectively.

Match details

Date: Thursday, 11 April 2019

Time: 8:00 PM IST

Venue: Sawai Mann Singh Stadium

League: Indian Premier League

Live Telecast: Star Network

Online Streaming: Hotstar

Venue Stats

Average 1st Inns scores – 156

Average 2nd Inns scores – 143

Highest total recorded – 197/5 (19.4 Ov) by RR vs DCG

Lowest total recorded – 92/10 (18.2 Ov) by MI vs RR

Highest score chased – 197/5 (19.4 Ov) by RR vs DCG

Lowest score defended – 151/7 (20 Ov) by SRH vs RR

Head-to-Head

Total – 21

RR- 08

CSK -13

Head to Head at Sawai Man Singh Stadium

Total – 06

Rajasthan Royals – 04

Chennai Super Kings – 02

Team News

Rajasthan Royals

• Sanju Samson will replace P. Chopra if he’s fit enough to play.
• Jaydev Unadkat can also get a chance ahead of Dhawal Kulkarni.

Chennai Super Kings

• Shardul Thakur might feature in the starting line-up to replace Harbhajan Singh.

Squads

Rajasthan Royals

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

Chennai Super Kings

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

Key Players

Chennai Super Kings

· Faf du Plessis

· Deepak Chahar

· Imran Tahir

Rajasthan Royals

· Steve Smith

· Ben Stokes

· Shreyas Gopal

Probable Playing XI

Rajasthan Royals

Ajinkya Rahane(C), Prashant Chopra/Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, Jos Buttler(WK), Ben Stokes, S Midhun/Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni, Rahul Tripathi, Shreyas Gopal, K Gowtham, Jofra Archer

Chennai Super Kings

Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (C,WK), Scott Kuggeleijn, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Harbhajan Singh/Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir