IPL’s Southern Derby comes to Bengaluru as RCB host CSK at the Chinnaswamy

If the RCB fans are still not over their victory against the Delhi Capitals, they are in for another treat as the IPL Southern Derby will be on show today evening where the Royal Challengers Bangalore take on the Chennai Super Kings. 

The Red and Gold Army successfully brushed aside the Delhi Capitals' challenge after missing out on the bragging rights against the Lucknow Super Giants by a very close margin. It was a collective show of brilliance from the RCB batters and bowlers as they managed to register a thumping 23-run win.

However, the management would be having a closer look at the lower-middle order which has somehow been a glaring area of concern for RCB. With all said and done, they would be pinning their hopes on DK to start firing, which would solve half of their problems. The current form that the RCB top-order has managed to find themselves is one among the major positives for the home side. 

Chennai Super Kings, on the contrary, would be hoping to shake off the narrow defeat at the hands of the Rajasthan Royals after a brilliant turnaround by Sandeep Sharma in that final over despite a late surge from MS Dhoni, who smashed a handful of exquisite cricketing strikes.

Expect this contest to be another high-flying encounter as the two teams have been battling pretty hard so far and tomorrow’s result will be crucial in deciding which team will surge ahead in the race for the higher rungs of the points table.

Venue Watch

Chinnaswamy had a rare change of character in the game between RCB and DC where the surface surprisingly featured a modest-scoring clash. Ideally touted as the bowlers’ sepulchre, we have witnessed some boisterous batting on the ground. With the game shifting back to its evening schedule, the track may have another change of heart that may once again get us hooked to the edge of our seats as two hard-hitting teams clash.

Personal battles to watch out for:

Faf du Plessis vs Maheesh Theeksana

Faf du Plessis is in jaw-dropping form but more importantly his strike rate has sent out warning bells to opposition bowlers. He got off to a phenomenal start against Delhi Capitals too but somehow miscued a full toss against Mitchell Marsh that put an abrupt end to his explosive start. However, with the kind of form he has knitted so far in the tournament and with his former team against him, he would be an instrumental force in RCB’s batting unit. CSK’s Maheesh Theeksana proved to be a major thorn in RCB’s flesh in the preceding edition of this fixture as he bagged four important wickets that left RCB inches short of the finish line in a high-scoring vie. With Dhoni’s inclination to spice things up, we may even stare at Theeksana kickstarting proceedings with the new ball.

Virat Kohli vs Ravindra Jadeja

Virat Kohli belted out another masterclass with a 34-ball-50 against the Delhi Capitals and seemed in fine touch. While Kohli has looked in imperious form all throughout IPL 2023, his recent woes against spin can be one factor that Dhoni may look into and this is exactly why Ravindra Jadeja will be the perfect match-up against the former RCB skipper. More importantly, the clash of these two would mean the battle of two of the most experienced campaigners in the history of the competition. 

Mohammed Siraj vs MS Dhoni

Mohammed Siraj has had a couple of excellent games on the bounce where his frugal and effective bowling left Lucknow Super Giants and the Delhi Capitals in heaps of trouble. He would be hoping to continue his glistening form with the ball while MS Dhoni, the man who has been in probably the finest touch in the span of the last three years in the IPL would be raring to nullify the Miyan magic. 

Match detail:

Match: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings

Venue: Chinnaswamy Stadium

Date: 17th April, 2023

Time: 7:30 PM

Head-to-head:

Matches played: 30

RCB: 10

CSK: 19

Squads:

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Faf Du Plessis (C), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammad Siraj, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Josh Hazlewood, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Suyash Prabhudessai, Karn Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, David Willey, Wayne Parnell, Himanshu Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, Sonu Yadav,
Michael Bracewell, Vyshak Vijaykumar

Chennai Super Kings:

MS Dhoni (c & wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Shaik Rasheed, Subhranshu Senapati, Ben Stokes, Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Nishant Sandhu, Bhagath Verma, Ajay Mandal, Deepak Chahar, Sisanda Magala, Matheesha Pathirana, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki, Tushar Deshpande.