RR and CSK seek to ride on winning momentum | IPL 2021 Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings: SWOT Analysis

Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings will look to continue winning momentum as they face each other in match 12 of IPL 2021 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

SWOT for CSK

Strengths: With four all-rounders — Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo -- CSK’s batting has more depth than in the previous season. In CSK’s team against Punjab Kings, nearly 10 players could bat. Not only does CSK have a great batting machine, the four all-rounders can be shuffled as required for optimal performance.

Weaknesses: Of the CSK’s top-4 batsmen, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali and Suresh Raina (the batting order), only Gaikwad has looked a bit wobbly. He is yet to reach a double-digit score this season, walking out on just five in the two matches. Against Punjab Kings, he mistimed most of his shots. His form would be a concern for the team.

Opportunity: Deepak Chahar bowled a wonderful spell against Punjab Kings, displaying tight bowling in the powerplay overs. The pitch also fit his style of bowling as he finished with 4/13. M S Dhoni prefers Chahar’s bowls in the powerplays. If Chahar has another good day then he could be in the race for the Purple Cap.

Threats: CSK’s record against RR hasn’t been encouraging. Last season, the men in yellow lost both their league matches against RR. The first time CSK were made to chase and in the other, they batted first but could not defend a humble total. RR could borrow confidence from history and put CSK under some pressure.

SWOT for RR

Strengths: RR had a strange plan of playing three left-arm seamers — Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya and Jaydev Unadkat — against DC. The plan was a surprise to many, but it did work as the three bowlers worked together to pick 5 wickets. Sakariya was impressive on his debut as he bagged 3 wickets. On a fast Mumbai pitch, RR seem to have discovered a potent fast bowling attack. The pacers could hunt plenty of more wickets in matches to come.

Weaknesses: RR’s spinners haven’t particularly impressed in the first two matches. Shreyas Gopal conceded 40 runs from his 3 overs in the first match before being overlooked for the second match. Rahul Tewatia has bowled only five overs and conceded 52 runs and is yet to pick a wicket. The onus is on the spinners to stop the flow of runs in the middle overs, something they haven’t done.

Opportunity: It was predicted that David Miller could get a chance in the playing XI, with one overseas’ slot vacant in absence of Ben Stokes. Miller hit a fine fifty to stabilise RR’s innings in what proved to be a tricky chase. Miller is in good form and this is his chance to establish himself as one of the prominent foreign players in RR’s squad.

Threat: Sanju Samson faded away quickly after kickstarting his IPL season on a high. Last season, Samson hit two fifties in RR’s first two matches of the tournament. After those two knocks, his next three scores read 8, 4 and 0. This phenomenon seems to have made a come-back now. After a thrilling hundred on his captaincy debut, against Punjab Kings, Samson was out on just 4. His inconsistency overshadows all his shot-making and aggressive intent. If he continues to remain inconsistent then he would start feeling the burden of captaincy too.

Head-to-Head

Matches played: 23

CSK: 14

RR: 9

Form Guide:

CSK: W-L-W-W-W

RR: W-L-L-W-W

Team News

Ben Stokes is officially out for the rest of the tournament due to an injury. At the time of writing this, RR have not yet announced any replacement for the all-rounder. Jason Behrendorf, who was announced as a replacement for Josh Hazlewood in the CSK squad, has left for India. He would be joining the team’s bio-bubble after completing the mandatory quarantine period.

Deccan Herald’s Dream XI

Faf du Plessis, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (c, wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Deepak Chahar, Jaydev Unadkat

Impact player for CSK

Moeen Ali: Moeen Ali is enjoying his time with CSK. He is getting regular starts and is being asked to both bat and bowl. The Englishman played a vital knock of 46 in a tricky chase against PBKS. So far Ali has had limited opportunities in the league, but in those few chances, the all-rounder has managed a strike rate of 156.40, which is the sixth best for a list of players with the highest recorded strike rate in the league. Ali should relish batting on a fast bouncy track at Wankhede.

Impact player for RR

Chris Morris: The tall South African finally got a chance to prove his worth as he played a match-winning knock of 36* against DC elevating the team from despair. The all-rounder has also scalped three wickets so far and is averaging just 22.66. Last season, playing for RCB, Morris picked four wickets against CSK in the two league matches. His prey were Faf du Plessis, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo. With Ben Stokes out, Morris will have to bear the burden of being the team’s key all-rounder.