IPL 2023, RCB vs CSK: Decoding key player battles
What's the story
Royal Challengers Bangalore will host the Chennai Super Kings in the 22nd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season. This is undoubtedly one of the most awaited fixtures of the IPL calendar.
Both teams have plenty of superstars to turn a match around and it will be fascinating to see them cross swords against each other.
Here are the key battles.
Key battle
Virat Kohli vs Moeen Ali
Virat Kohli's cautious approach against spin is evident and MS Dhoni may unleash Moeen Ali early on looking for his wicket.
They have met in IPL only twice and even in that Moeen dismissed Kohli once. he gave away just four runs in seven balls.
Kohli has scored 618 runs in 83 IPL innings against right-arm off-spinners while getting dismissed 14 times (SR: 114.44).
Key battle
Glenn Maxwell vs Ravindra Jadeja
Glenn Maxwell will be very important for RCB in the middle overs and in that phase, he will have to tackle Ravindra Jadeja's bowling.
Maxwell and Jadeja have faced each other in 10 IPL innings and the former was dismissed six times.
The Australian dasher has scored 49 runs in 40 deliveries against Jadeja (SR: 122.50).
He has failed to hit a single maximum.
Key battle
Ruturaj Gaikwad vs Mohammed Siraj
Ruturaj Gaikwad has been exceptional for CSK ever since making his debut in 2020.
He will have to negotiate with Mohammed Siraj in the powerplays. The duo has met each other in five innings and Ruturaj has smoked 52 runs at a strike rate of 144.44, without getting dismissed.
Siraj has bowled 59 dot balls, the most by any bowler in IPL 2023.
Key battle
MS Dhoni vs Harshal Patel
Dhoni might be at the twilight of his career, but he still has enough to finish games for CSK.
Meanwhile, Harshal Patel will hope to keep the CSK skipper at bay.
They have met in eight IPL innings and Harshal has dismissed Dhoni twice while giving away 25 runs off 32 deliveries.
Dhoni owns a strike rate of 174.88 in the death overs (16-20).
Match details
Pitch report, timing and streaming details
RCB will play their fourth match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium this season.
The pitch here is generally very fruitful for batters as they can hit through the line and the shorter dimensions help their cause.
The toss-winning captain might elect to bowl because of dew playing a role.
Star Sports will telecast the match, fans can also live-stream it on JioCinema for free (7:30pm).
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