Rajasthan Royals beging their campaign against high-flying Superkings

The Royals from Rajasthan are all set to kick off their campaign in the Dream 11 IPL 2020 against the Chennai Superkings. As the IPL party arrives in the last of the three venues for the season, a depleted Rajasthan will have an uphill task against an impressive Chennai Superkings team who managed to snap a five-game losing streak against the Mumbai Indians in the inaugural match of the tournament.

The Rajasthan Royals will well be on the backfoot even before a single ball is bowled, their two key players out of contention for their first game. Their English superstar duo of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes unavailable for the team’s season-opener means the Royals will have gaping holes to fill. However, it is not all doom and gloom for them. Royals will have to look no further than their opponents for the night in CSK who also lost two key players before the season began. An exciting talent in Yashasvi Jaiswal and a new addition to their team in Robin Uthappa will look to provide the necessary firepower at the top. David Miller will be expected to make his debut for the Royals, only his second team in the IPL having spent 9 long years with Kings XI Punjab.

However, the biggest boost for the Royals will undoubtedly be the fit-to-go Australian batsman Steve Smith. Having missed the entire ODI series against England, Smith’s return from a concussion scare will be a giant positive for the team in dire need of star power. Jofra Archer will be expected to hurry batsmen with his pace, while Shreyas Gopal will have the bear much of the workload in an inexperienced Royals spin bowling lineup.

Despite the setback of losing Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh, Chennai looked a polished side with experience capable of handling any adversity. The team which was subjected to severe pressure and were on the mat on multiple occasions in their first game, found a way every time to wriggle out with a characteristic resilience. While experience at the top of the batting lineup provided a much-needed calm in the pursuit of a target, an emerging talent in Sam Curran lit up the run-chase at the death.

When the Royals take on the Superkings at Sharjah, a much smaller outfield and a historically flat track promises a high-scoring encounter. The Chennai Superkings might go in as slight favorites with their experience having already played a competitive match, but the Royals have enough firepower to throw in a couple of punches of their own.