In an exciting do-or-die match to determine the fourth and final team for the IPL play-offs, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the weather gods will square off on May 18, pitting the fairytale comeback run of the Bengaluru club against the might of the five-time champion Chennai Super Kings. Image Credit: R.V. Moorthy/B. Jothi Ramalingam
The last round of English Premier League matches will begin on Sunday, a little more than twenty-four hours after the first ball of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs. Chennai Super Kings match is thrown down at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
All ten football matches will begin at the same time — both at the start and after half-time — and no team will have the benefit of knowing beforehand what has happened elsewhere. Manchester City and Arsenal are separated by two points at the top and are set for a pulsating race to the finish.
Such a level playing field has so far proved alien to the Indian Premier League, and thus, RCB and CSK know exactly what is required of them on Saturday to get into the playoffs.
RCB requires a victory, subject to restrictions. In the event of a complete 20-over match with a 200 score, it must defeat CSK by 18 runs or reach the target with roughly 11 balls remaining.
Any other outcome, including a washout (rain is predicted), will advance CSK. If Ruturaj Gaikwad’s team wins and Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals lose on Sunday, they might leapfrog to the second spot.
After winning five straight games, it is somewhat of a miracle that RCB is still in the running for the wooden spoon, considering how dominant they were formerly.
But with Will Jacks coming back to England, Glenn Maxwell will be the center of attention. Although the 35-year-old has scored a pitiful 36 runs in just seven innings this season, few teams have a substitute of his caliber.
The last six games have seen CSK go from winning to losing. Also, its bowlers must be precise while facing an explosive batting lineup like the Royal Bengals. Since Englishman Moeen Ali has left the Indian shores, either Richard Gleeson or Mitchell Santner will probably play.
Teams (from):
Royal Challengers Bengaluru:
Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh and Saurav Chauhan.
Chennai Super Kings:
Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Sameer Rizvi, MS Dhoni (wk), Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande, Shardul Thakur, Shaik Rasheed, Moeen Ali, Nishant Sindhu, Mitchell Santner, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Prashant Solanki, Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh, RS Hangargekar and Aravelly Avanish.
