After action in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, there will be a mega-clash today at the Sharjah cricket stadium between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings in the fourth match of the 13th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.
While MS Dhoni's team made a great start to their journey by defeating defending champions Mumbai Indians in the first match of the tournament, Rajasthan Royals will begin their campaign without their star players Jose Butler and Ben Stokes.
Rajasthan Royals star player Jos Buttler won't be able to participate in RR's first match due to the non-completion of the quarantine period.
Butler arrived in the UAE with his family on 17 September and will not only have to remain quarantined till September 23, but his two Coronavirus tests should also result in negative before joining the team. Ben Stokes, who is with his ill father in New Zealand, has not yet reached Dubai yet.
The success of Rajasthan Royals will depend to a large extent on the performance of young Indian players. Rajasthan Royals may give a chance to Ryan Parag against Chennai Super Kings.
Apart from this, Indian players like Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat and Akash Singh are believed to be in the playing eleven. Big relief for Rajasthan Royals is that their team captain Steve Smith is fit to play today's game.
RR vs CSK Top Players To Watch Out For-
Sam Curran (Chennai Super Kings) - England all-rounder Sam Curran can surely emerge as the star player for his team CSK in today's game against RR. In CSK's opening game against last year's winner Mumbai Indians, Curran picked one wicket with the ball and smashed 8 runs off just 6 balls. His fiery cameo helped CSK win the match vs MI.
Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals) - Samson, the young wicket-keeper batsman, has so far obtained two hundreds and almost over 2200 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL). In the absence of Jos Buttler, who has been quarantined, Samson is the No. 1 wicket-keeper batsman choice for RR.
Faf du Plessis (Chennai Super Kings) - The veteran South African brings a lot to the table for his team. The consistent run-scorer, in Suresh Raina's absence, gives a lot of strength to CSK's batting order. Faf is not only a great batsman but also a remarkable fielder as he owned Abu Dhabi with two stunning boundary catches.
Jaydev Unadkat (Rajasthan Royals) - Unadkat is entering the IPL 2020 seaosn for RR on the back of his most successful Ranji trophy season. Unadkat's bowling experience can also help RR in a major way in their IPL opening match against CSK.
Lungi Ngidi - The speedster was the key bowler for CSK in their last match against defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) as he helped them mak a comeback in the game by picking three important wickets for just 9 runs in the last two overs. Even in today's game, his wicket-taking ability in the death overs might come in handy for CSK.
RR vs CSK Prediction, Fantasy Cricket Tips, Playing XI
Suggestion 1. RR vs CSK Fantasy Cricket Tips-
Captain- Shane Watson, Vice captain- Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson, Shane Watson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Shreyas Gopal, Jofra Archer, Ambati Rayudu, Faf du Plessis, David Miller
Suggestion 2. RR vs CSK Fantasy Cricket Tips-
Captain- Steve Smith, Vice captain- Faf du Plessis
Steve Smith, Faf du Plessis, Sanju Samson, Ambati Rayudu, Robin Uthappa, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Rahul Tewatia, Piyush Chawla, Deepak Chahar, Jofra Archer