IPL Preview: CSK VS MI, DD VS SRH
Unbeaten so far, Royal Challengers Bangalore would be eyeing a hat-trick of wins to go to the top of points table even as Kolkata Knight Riders look to shake off their last match's disappointment when the two sides clash against each other in an IPL match here on Thursday.
The star-studded Bangalore, which boast of some of the most feared Twenty20 batsmen in their line-up, have won both their games so far. The results have come despite the absence of the destructive Chris Gayle, who has been nursing a sore back. He, however, is expected to be fit for Thursday's match. In his absence, the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Parthiv Patel and AB de Villiers have made quite a statement with their efforts to show that the days of RCB being called a one-man show are over. A slight concern has been skipper Virat Kohli, who is yet to hit the groove, but given his reputation, the lean patch is not expected to last too long. Kolkata too have a good line-up at their disposal and it too has fared well. Even though there aren't any big stars to boast of but the likes of Manish Pandey and Robin Uthappa have made their presence felt. However, more would be expected of established players such as skipper Gautam Gambhir and Jacques Kallis.
It’s a rerun on the last year’s final in which Mumbai Indians triumphed but things have changed since. Chennai Super Kings started off with a loss, but have since managed back to back wins while defending champions Mumbai are surprisingly sitting joint-bottom, with no wins from two games. Two major names have traded jersies and will come face to face in this fixture Dwayne Smith went from Mumbai to Chennai while Michael Hussey has gone the other way around. While Smith is second in the run-scorer’s list after 10 games of this IPL, while the Australian’s transition hasn’t been smooth so far.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja so far have taken 11 wickets between them. Harbhajan Singh, on the other hand, is yet to bag one, though he has bowled at a good (5.57) economy rate so far. His spin-bowling partner Pragyan Ojha has failed to impress with nothing to show in the wickets column and a high economy rate of 9.12. Chennai Super Kings gave a master-class in using their slow bowlers to defend a low target against Rajasthan in their last game, and certainly have the form-spinners in their corner ahead of the big game.
Unbeaten so far, Royal Challengers Bangalore would be eyeing a hat-trick of wins to go to the top of points table even as Kolkata Knight Riders look to shake off their last match's disappointment when the two sides clash against each other in an IPL match here on Thursday.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja so far have taken 11 wickets between them. Harbhajan Singh, on the other hand, is yet to bag one, though he has bowled at a good (5.57) economy rate so far. His spin-bowling partner Pragyan Ojha has failed to impress with nothing to show in the wickets column and a high economy rate of 9.12. Chennai Super Kings gave a master-class in using their slow bowlers to defend a low target against Rajasthan in their last game, and certainly have the form-spinners in their corner ahead of the big game.