The two finalists of the first ever IPL season are all set to have a go at each other after their first win in their previous encounters of 2021 season. Both teams have clashed in 23 games of which 14 matches have been won by Chennai Super Kings, while Rajasthan Royals have won 9 games. Since 2015, both teams are neck and neck against each other winning 4 matches each. While the MS Dhoni-led CSK had it easy against Punjab Kings, the Royals scraped through against Delhi Capitals in the final over. CSK hit back superbly after a chastening defeat to Capitals with Deepak Chahar putting his hand up with a four-wicket haul to break the back of the Punjab batting line-up, setting up a six-wicket victory.
On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals opened their points account in the Indian Premier League 2021 when they defeated Delhi Capitals by 3 wickets on Thursday. Chris Morris was the hero of the night for RR against DC as he bowled beautifully and then provided the fireworks with his bat at the end to win the match for his side. However, it is their batting which poses the biggest issue as their top stars are out of form. With Ben Stokes gone for the season, Jos Buttler is likely to hold onto the openers slot for the season. He has the ability to explode and take the match away from the opposition and RR would hope he does the same against CSK. After scoring a splendid ton against PBKS, Samson could not fire against DC and will look to play a captain’s knock today. For CSK, Dhoni didn’t bat in the game against Punjab after a duck in the opening match. It remains to be seen if the captain chooses to push himself up the order and gives himself the opportunity to find some form. England all-rounder Moeen Ali was in the thick of action in the win over Punjab and that should please the CSK think-tank. He picked up a wicket with his off-spin and batted fluently.
RR's Predicted XI: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (C & WK), David Miller, Mahipal Lolmror, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Jaydev Unadkat, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman
CSK Predicted XI: Robin Uthappa, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Cheteshwar Pujara, MS Dhoni (c/wk), Dwayne Bravo, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar
