Defending champions Chennai Super Kings will face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in match No. 68 of the IPL 2024 on Saturday (May 18) at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The match is a must-win fixture for both teams because the winner of Saturday’s contest will qualify for the IPL 2024 playoffs. For CSK, the equation is simple: a win by any margin will be enough for them to progress, and even if they lose, they must ensure that the margin is not more than 18 runs or RCB takes more than 18.1 overs to achieve the target. In both of these scenarios, CSK will be able to progress to the playoffs.
For the do-or-die match against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, CSK could welcome back the return of star pacer Deepak Chahar in the playing XI. Chahar, who was signed for Rs 14 crore in the IPL 2022 mega auctions, hasn’t played for CSK since May 1. He was out of action due to injury-related issues. But after missing the action for more than a couple of weeks, the pacer shared a video of him doing bowling practice in the nets, which has raised the possibility of his participation in the last league stage match of the IPL 2024 for CSK.
Chahar’s availability will be a big boost for the Super Kings, as apart from his bowling in the powerplay overs, he can contribute with the bat as well. In the absence of Mustafizur Rahman, who won the Player of the Match award against RCB in the IPL 2024 opener, and Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande and Shardul Thakur will lead the pace bowling attack for the Super Kings and will have Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, and Maheesh Theeshana as three spinners.
Jadeja has picked up 26 wickets in 32 IPL matches played against RCB so far, and he would like to come up with another big show against the Virat Kohli-starrer side to seal CSK’s place in the playoffs.
In the batting, Ajinkya Rahane is unlikely to get a chance in the playing XI, which means captain Ruturaj Gaikwad will open the innings with New Zealand star Rachin Ravindra. On his IPL debut, Rachin scored 37 runs from 15 balls against RCB on March 22, and CSK fans will expect another top show from him in the match, which is likely to be affected by rain.
Gaikwad has impressed with his batting in IPL 2024 and is second on the leading run scorers list with 583 runs to his name.
Shivam Dube and MS Dhoni have made enough headlines in IPL 2024 with their attacking knocks in the middle and death overs, and in the friendly batting conditions of Chinnaswamy Stadium, fans will want them to smack many more maximums and play a part in CSK’s win.
CSK can finish as high as No. 2 in the points table, which will help them play in Qualifier 1 against KKR on May 21.
Chennai Super Kings likely playing XI for the IPL 2024 match against RCB: Rachin Ravindra, Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Daryl Mitchell, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (WK), Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana
Impact Players: Simarjeet Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Sameer Rizvi, Mukesh Choudhary
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