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[ad_1]<br/><br><div><p><aside class="inline float-r inline-track"><p><b>CSK</b>: <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8048/scorecard/1136593/kolkata-knight-riders-vs-chennai-super-kings-33rd-match/" target="_blank">lost to</a> KKR by six wickets,<a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8048/scorecard/1136590/chennai-super-kings-vs-delhi-daredevils-30th-match/" target="_blank"> beat</a> Daredevils by 13 runs, <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8048/scorecard/1136587/chennai-super-kings-vs-mumbai-indians-27th-match/" target="_blank"> lost to</a> Mumbai by 8 wickets</p><p><b>RCB</b>: <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8048/scorecard/1136591/royal-challengers-bangalore-vs-mumbai-indians-31st-match/" target="_blank">beat</a> Mumbai by 14 runs, <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8048/scorecard/1136589/royal-challengers-bangalore-vs-kolkata-knight-riders-29th-match/" target="_blank">lost to</a> KKR by six wickets, <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8048/scorecard/1136584/royal-challengers-bangalore-vs-chennai-super-kings-24th-match/" target="_blank">lost to</a> KKR by five wickets</p><br/></aside></p><h2>Big Picture</h2><p>Royal Challengers Bangalore could probably afford one more loss. But only if they get very lucky with other results going their way.</p><p>They came away from the IPL auction like a tourist with a detailed itinerary: allrounders, check; big-hitters, check; KKR's bowling attack that knocked them over <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8048/scorecard/1082617/kolkata-knight-riders-vs-royal-challengers-bangalore-27th-match-ipl-2017/" target="_blank">for 49</a>, double check. But one month in, all they have is a bag full of knock-off merchandise. Five defeats in eight matches with a squad that Virat Kohli thought was the most balanced is, essentially, like being stuck with t-shirts that say Wrong instead of <i>Wrogn</i>, right?</p><p>But some innocent bystanders have given them a helpful tip, at least with respect to their next adventure. It is hard to compete with Chennai Super Kings' batting line-up. So make fools of their bowlers.</p><p>Target scores well above par if batting first. Forget about the run-rate and safeguard wickets for the death if chasing. Basically, RCB have to figure out a way to beat a monstrous batting team with virtually the tournament on the line.</p><p>It seems karma wants them to learn how everyone that faces RCB feels.</p><h2>In the news</h2><p>AB de Villiers has been declared fit after viral fever ruled him out of RCB's previous two games. Quinton de Kock, however, has flown back to South Africa for a wedding.</p><h2>Previous meeting</h2><p>A high-scoring affair when RCB <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8048/scorecard/1136584/royal-challengers-bangalore-vs-chennai-super-kings-24th-match-ipl" target="_blank">posted 205</a> and CSK chased it down in a blaze of sixes in Bengaluru. De Villiers made a match-winning 68.</p><h2>Likely XIs</h2><p><b>Chennai Super Kings</b>: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Ambati Rayudu, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Harbhajan Singh, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Imran Tahir, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 KM Asif</p><p>De Kock's absence may see <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/player/32242.html">Parthiv Patel</a> getting his first game of the season.</p><p><b>Royal Challengers Bangalore</b>: 1 Manan Vohra/Parthiv Patel (wk), 2 Brendon McCullum 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Mandeep Singh, 6 Colin de Grandhomme, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Mohammed Siraj</p><h2>Strategy punt</h2><p>Imran Tahir has taken 15 wickets in Pune, the most among anyone in the CSK squad, and he has taken out AB de Villiers two times in three IPL innings. This head-to-head can be quite compelling for the viewer as well because the batsman also strikes at 185.7 against the legspinner.</p><article class="ad-300"/><h2>Stats that matter</h2><ul><li><p>RCB have four wins in five games in Pune, and de Villiers was Man of the Match in three of those games. He has made 211 runs at a strike-rate of 177. Viral fever, begone.</p></li><li><p>CSK have rarely had a phenomenal bowling line-up. But they mask that problem with their spinners and Dhoni's ability to use them. In each of their eight years, their economy rate had always hovered around 7 and strike rate around 25. In 2018, those numbers have risen to 8.49 and 34.50.</p></li><li><p>Before Tim Southee was brought in to the XI, RCB were conceding a six every six deliveries in the death. Now, that figure is a far more respectable 18.3.</p></li><li><p>Dhoni has scored 329 runs at a strike-rate of 169.6. That's his best tally after nine matches in any season of IPL.</p></li></ul><h2>Fantasy pick</h2><p>Ambati Rayudu. He's the highest scorer of the IPL this season with six scores of 30-plus in nine innings. He's also been hitting at a strike-rate of 153 with 56 hits to and over the boundary.</p><h2>Quotes</h2><p>"The last four days have been a blur I have been suffering from severe viral flu, one of the most debilitating illnesses I have ever experienced. Aside from one visit to the hospital, I have barely left my hotel room. Sleep has been almost impossible, and the migraine headaches have been extreme."<br/><i><b>AB de Villiers</b> wrote in a column for <i>Times of India</i></i></p><br/></div><br/><br>[ad_2]<br/><br><a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/1145218.html?CMP=OTC-RSS">Source link </a>

AB de Villiers to return as RCB aim to stay afloat

[ad_1] CSK : lost to KKR by six wickets, beat Daredevils by 13 runs, lost to Mumbai by 8 wickets RCB : beat Mumbai by 14 runs, lost to...

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[ad_1]<br/><br><div><h2>Big Picture</h2><p>On Friday, Delhi Daredevils did not look like the side that had just one win in six games. They did not look like they have had troubles with their batting line-up this season. They looked like they were a team that was strong not just on paper. It seemed like they were announcing their late but not-too-late arrival.</p><p><a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/player/642519.html">Shreyas Iyer</a>, Daredevils' new captain was their pillar in the match <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8048/scorecard/1136586/delhi-daredevils-vs-kolkata-knight-riders-26th-match-ipl-2018/" target="_blank">against</a> Kolkata Knight Riders. He took his bottom-placed side to the highest total of this season as he made the highest score by a captain on debut. He effortlessly took on the pacers and the wristspinners as his ex-captain Gautam Gambhir cheered him on from the dugout. Even his move to drop Gambhir and give Colin Munro and Prithvi Shaw a go as the new opening pair worked wonders.</p><p><aside class="inline float-r inline-track"><p><b>Chennai Super Kings</b>: <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8048/scorecard/1136587/chennai-super-kings-vs-mumbai-indians-27th-match-indian-premier-league-2018" target="_blank">lost</a> to Mumbai Indians by eight wickets, <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8048/scorecard/1136584/royal-challengers-bangalore-vs-chennai-super-kings-24th-match" target="_blank">beat</a> Royal Challengers by five wickets, <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8048/scorecard/1136580/sunrisers-hyderabad-vs-chennai-super-kings-20th-match/" target="_blank">beat</a> Sunrisers Hyderabad by four runs</p><p><b>Daredevils</b>: <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8048/scorecard/1136586/delhi-daredevils-vs-kolkata-knight-riders-26th-match-ipl-2018/" target="_blank">beat</a>Knight Riders by 55 runs<a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8048/scorecard/1136582/delhi-daredevils-vs-kings-xi-punjab-22nd-match/" target="_blank">, lost to</a> Kings XI by 4 runs, <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8048/scorecard/1136579/royal-challengers-bangalore-vs-delhi-daredevils-19th-match/" target="_blank">lost to</a> Royal Challengers by six wickets</p><br/></aside></p><p>Daredevils will be flying to Pune to meet Chennai Super Kings, who were most recently handed an eight-wicket <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8048/scorecard/1136587/chennai-super-kings-vs-mumbai-indians-27th-match-indian-premier-league-2018" target="_blank">thrashing</a> by a refreshed Mumbai Indians.</p><p>While Dhoni offered the usual "we were 10-15 short" quote after the loss, their bigger issue was the bowling. They have conceded at an economy of 9.38 after the Powerplay, the worst this season after Royal Challengers Bangalore. They also have the second worst economy rate in the death overs.</p><aside class="inline inline-photo full"><figure><picture><source data-srcset="http://a2.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fi%2Fcricket%2Fcricinfo%2F1144807_900x900.png&w=570, http://a2.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fi%2Fcricket%2Fcricinfo%2F1144807_900x900.png&w=1140&cquality=40 2x" media="(min-width: 376px)"><source data-srcset="http://a2.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fi%2Fcricket%2Fcricinfo%2F1144807_900x900.png&w=375, http://a2.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fi%2Fcricket%2Fcricinfo%2F1144807_900x900.png&w=750&cquality=40 2x" media="(max-width: 375px)"><img class=" lazyload lazyload" data-image-container=".inline-photo"/></source></source></picture><figcaption class="photoCaption">Shreyas Iyer has 244 runs from seven innings so far in IPL 2018, at a phenomenal strike rate of 162.7 <cite>ESPNcricinfo Ltd</cite></figcaption></figure></aside><p>So far this season, their batting has bailed them out whenever their bowlers had let them down. Their loss against Mumbai might not have disturbed their place in the table, but they have a lot of contemplating to do on their bowling inefficiencies in just a day's time.</p><h2>In the news</h2><p>Deepak Chahar is <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/23350734/deepak-chahar-two-weeks-hamstring-injury" target="_blank">out of action</a> for at least two weeks following a hamstring injury. <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/southafrica/content/player/542023.html">Lungi Ngidi</a>, who had flown back to South Africa following the death of his father, has rejoined the squad.</p><h2>Strategy punt</h2><p>In the previous game, Mumbai rightly introduced Krunal Pandya in the fifth over to take advantage of <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/player/8180.html">Shane Watson</a>'s struggle against slow left-arm spinners. In the IPL since 2015, Watson has been dismissed 12 times by slow left-armers and averages just 9.3 against them.</p><p>Super Kings could rope in David Willey in place of the out-of-form Sam Billings. Billings has scored just 24 runs in his last four innings and has also shown signs of struggle against spinners, giving away his wicket three times to them. Willey scores at a strike rate of 170.6 in the middle overs and 157.5 in the death overs in T20s since 2015. They could also use his left-arm inswingers to add a new dimension to their pace attack. He has taken 43 wickets at 24.3 in Powerplays while maintaining an economy of 7.4 in the same time period.</p><aside class="inline inline-photo full"><figure><picture><source data-srcset="http://a4.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fi%2Fcricket%2Fcricinfo%2F1144808_900x771.png&w=570, http://a4.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fi%2Fcricket%2Fcricinfo%2F1144808_900x771.png&w=1140&cquality=40 2x" media="(min-width: 376px)"><source data-srcset="http://a4.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fi%2Fcricket%2Fcricinfo%2F1144808_900x771.png&w=375, http://a4.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fi%2Fcricket%2Fcricinfo%2F1144808_900x771.png&w=750&cquality=40 2x" media="(max-width: 375px)"><img class=" lazyload lazyload" data-image-container=".inline-photo"/></source></source></picture><figcaption class="photoCaption">Deepak Chahar and co. have struck in the Powerplay, but Super Kings have often lost the plot after that <cite>ESPNcricinfo Ltd</cite></figcaption></figure></aside><h2>Stats that matter</h2><ul><li><p><a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/player/234675.html">Ravindra Jadeja</a> has had a poor run this season, continuing his trend of declining influence on results in recent IPLs. He has bowled just 10 overs in seven games this season and has picked just one wicket as compared to the 2015 season where he picked 11 wickets in 15 innings. However, it is interesting to note that in CSK's two losses this season, Dhoni had not bowled Jadeja.</p></li><li><p>Shreyas Iyer will be looking to score his fourth consecutive 50-plus score. Only Virat Kohli (4) and Virender Sehwag (5) have posted more than three consecutive half-centuries in the IPL.</p></li><li><p>Glenn Maxwell is known to have gone big against CSK in the past. He has 204 runs in four innings and a strike rate of 202 against them.</p></li></ul><h2>Fantasy picks</h2><p>Iyer for his red-hot form. Maxwell would be another pick for his record against CSK. Suresh Raina has been in the thick of the action for CSK this edition, so he would be an automatic pick too.</p><br/></div><br/><br>[ad_2]<br/><br><a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/1144762.html?CMP=OTC-RSS">Source link </a>

Iyer's Daredevils take aim at wounded CSK

[ad_1] Big Picture On Friday, Delhi Daredevils did not look like the side that had just one win in six games. They did not look like they ha...

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