File photo of RCB's AB de Villiers (left) and CSK's Faf du Plessis.
When Royal Challengers Bangalore takes on Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings in an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 encounter in Sharjah on Friday, they will be looking to shake off their crushing setback in their previous outing against Kolkata Knight Riders. While RCB will aim to get back on track, CSK won by 20 runs over the reigning champions Mumbai Indians on Sunday night.
Toss Update: CSK win toss, opt to bowl first. Tim David makes IPL debut for RCB
Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Virat Kohli(c), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat(w), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Tim David, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Predicted 11
Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, KS Bharat (wk), AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell, Tim David/Sachin Baby, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj and Kyle Jamieson/Navdeep Saini.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Predicted 11
Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (c&wk), Ambati Rayudu, Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja
Given the quality and form of DC players, it was hard to ignore many of their players and feature in numbers in indiatvnews.com's fantasy XI.
Wicket-keeper (AB de Villiers)
The South African batting modern-day T20 great AB de Villiers was disappointed with a golden duck in the last game but it will be too early to write off for the game; especially when the flat track of Sharjah awaits.That's why he is picked up as sole wicket-keeper ahead of MS Dhoni, whose match fitness is still a concern.
Batsman (Devdutt Paddikal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis)
The flat track of Sharjah has often been the hunting ground for batsmen, more importantly openers, who have often look to make most of the fielding restrictions. Also, Gaikwad is an automatic choice after his match-winning knock against Mumbai Indians on a patchy Dubai surface and is best choice to be the captain. Likes of Paddikal, Kohli and Du Plessis have misfired in the last match but are too hard to keep away from runs, especially when the conditions are in their favour. Glenn Maxwell could also be a great playing XI option.
All-rounder (Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja)
Both Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja showed quality with the bat in the last match. While Bravo delivered a quick-fire 8-ball 23, Jadeja took his time to adjust to the conditions and scored a 33-ball 26 on a two-paced surface. Bravo later proved decisive with a bowling spell of 3/25. Moeen Ali didn't click with the bat in the last match but proved miser with his bowling, conceding just 16 runs in three overs.
Bowler (Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar)
Harshal Patel finds a place in the line-up as the purple cap holder was among the most economical bowler from RCB's embarrassing loss while Yuzvendra Chahal is too hard to ignore as the strike bowler of RCB despite the short boundary measures of Sharjah. Shardul Thakur finds a place in the line-up ahead of Mohammed Siraj as he can come handy with the bat in case if he is asked to. Chahar, meanwhile, is more likely to produce breakthrough wickets in the opening stage of the innings.
Fantasy XI AB de Villiers,Devdutt Paddikal, Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja (v/c), Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar
PITCH REPORT
Sharjah with its flat surface and short boundary is expected to be a batting paradise, with no margin for error for the bowlers while good deliveries are also punished. The pacers should get the ball to swing around in the early exchanges, keeping the batters on their toes. However, the ball should skid on to the bat under lights, making it easy for strokeplay. The batters will target the shorter boundaries, which should make for a good contest between them and the spinners.
WEATHER UPDATES
On the day the wind is expected to blow as high as 23 km/hr with the temperature as high as 39 degree celsius. There won't be much respite once the sun set as the minimum temperature is expected to be 31 degrees.
LIVE STREAMING
You can see the IPL 2021 RCB vs CSK Live Streaming Online on Hotstar and JIOTV, and TV Telecast on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3, and Star Sports HD channels.
