IPL: Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Predictions

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will take on the defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a must-win match to be played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium, Pune today.

The campaign of RCB has gone off the boil with three defeats in a row.

They currently have five wins and as many losses.

Chennai Super Kings, on the other hand, have won three games and lost six so far.

They somehow kept themselves alive by winning the last game against SRH.

But one more defeat could mean curtains to their chances of qualifying for the playoffs.

It will be the second game of the season for both the teams against each other.

Chennai had defeated Bangalore in the first game by 23 runs and it was their first win of the season.

Match details

Fixture: Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

Date: May 4, 2022 Wednesday

Time: 7:30 PM IST

Venue: Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune

Pitch report

CSK won their last game against SRH at this very venue, while RCB lost their previous game here against RR.

The pitch is expected to provide a lot of help to the batters as we saw in the last match.

Spinners did find some support from the pitch during the initial matches but the same might not happen in this match.

The team winning the toss can look to bat.

Head to head record

Both teams have met a total of 29 times in the IPL.

But CSK has a complete dominance over RCB.

So far, Chennai Super Kings have won 19 matches, as compared to RCB’s 9 wins and one match ended with no result.

Even in the last five outings, CSK has won all four matches.

Current form

RCB is choking yet again. They started the season with five wins from seven matches, but they are now doubtful for the next round.

Faf du Plessis and his team have lost their last three matches badly.

This is a wake-up call because they will not do anything now, so it will be the end of the tournament for them as the competition is getting tougher.

Virat Kohli showed some form with a half-century, but Du Plessis, Maxwell, or Karthik got out cheaply. There might be a few changes expected in the batting order.

Team News

RCB made one change to their line-up for the last game against Gujarat Titans.

Suyash Prabhudessai went out and Mahipal Lomror replaced him.

There were two changes in the CSK team for the previous match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

In place of Dwayne Bravo and Shivam Dube, Devon Conway and Simarjeet Singh came in.

RCB Likely 11

Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Mahipal Lomror, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood

CSK Likely 11

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Mitchell Santner/Dwayne Bravo, Dwaine Pretorius, Simarjeet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary, Maheesh Theekshana

Expected key players in the match

Josh Hazlewood has been great for RCB this season.

He joined late, but he has become the leader of the pace attack.

The Australian pacer has picked 10 wickets in six matches at an average and economy rate of 17.20 and 7.64 respectively.

Ruturaj Gaikwad has recently shown some form for CSK.

He was also the “Man of the Match” against SRH in the last match.

The CSK opener scored a blistering 99 and helped his team get over the 200-run mark.

He has scored 237 runs so far at an average and strike rate of 26.33 and 136.20.

Mukesh Choudhary is in great nick for CSK.

The left-arm pacer is coming off a four-wicket haul in the last match.

Mukesh has already picked up 11 wickets in 8 matches at a bowling average of 24.45.

Who will win

The defending champions, CSK are coming into their groove with an impressive win in their last match over SRH.

The batting department, led by Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway, was exceptional.

Now, after the captaincy shift to MS Dhoni, the team is looking stronger than ever. Even Ravindra Jadeja looks transformed.

RCB looks demoralised after three consecutive defeats. Our prediction is that CSK will win.