IPL 2018: CSK vs RCB Preview: Playing 11s, Timings, Live Streaming & More

Royal Challengers Bangalore lost their home match against Chennai Super Kings and the Bangalore outfit will look to make amends when they meet CSK in Pune on Saturday

Pune, May 4: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) might have managed to stay afloat in this Indian Premier League with a win over struggling Mumbai Indians at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru last week, but a play-off berth is still some distance away for RCB as they embark on a slew of away matches having their immediate opponent in the formidable Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

CHECK IT OUT: IPL Special Page | MyKhel Fantasy League

RCB might be coming off a win over Mumbai Indians and even amidst that victory, the Virat Kohli-led team has lot to ponder over. In the absence of AB de Villiers, who suffered a bout of viral fever ahead of last week’s match against the Kolkata Knight Riders, RCB struggled to add power to their game.

IPL Schedule | Points Table

They were far too dependent on Kohli to take the fight into the opposition camp. The Royal Challengers will require some more runs and consistency from the likes of Quinton de Kock, Manan Vohra, Brendon McCullum and Mandeep Singh.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Squad | RCB Fixtures & Results

Of course, the bowlers produced a vastly improved show under the fiery Umesh Yadav and accurate Tim Southee. But the RCB bowlers will have to ensure that the effort was not just an aberration. And against the Chennai Super Kings in their own den – adopted or natural – they are bound to face a stern test.

CSK has had a fine run in this IPL evidenced by their position as one of the major players in the points table so far along with Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab. But that has cleverly masked some vulnerabilities.

After a close finish at the Chinnaswamy, get ready to witness another nail-biter with these battles headlining the #CSKvRCB clash ➡️ https://t.co/jowaJKSlHO #PlayBold pic.twitter.com/201B8PliGR
— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) May 4, 2018

Even with someone as experienced as Dwayne Bravo in their ranks, the CSK bowling at the backend of the innings has not been up to the scratch. In the last two matches against Delhi Daredevils and Knight Riders they offered absolute tripe in the death overs.

Chennai Super Kings Squad | CSK Fixtures & Results

Against the Daredevils, the CSK were saved only by the sheer size of the total – 211/4 as Rishabh Pant ran amok. The Chennai outfit managed less impressive 177/5 against the Knight Riders and their bowlers lost direction once Dinesh Karthik exploded with a series of boundaries from the 12th over. In fact, it required the firepower of Dhoni for CSK to reach those totals on both the occasions.

The Chennai Super Kings bowlers leaked more than 80 runs in just six overs as the Knight Riders cantered home. They cannot afford one more slip up and the RCB, despite not being at their consistent best as a batting unit, can exploit that chink brutally, particularly if De Villiers recovers from viral fever and makes a return.

Arrival at Pune and hopefully this is a sign of good things to come ❤#PlayBold #RCB pic.twitter.com/cFB50Gpqzr
— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) May 3, 2018

The pitch at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium at Pune has been a bit unpredictable – not showing any special affinity towards either batsmen or bowlers. So, that makes it all the more imperative for both RCB and CSK to buckle up and produce a mature, all-round effort to be on the right side of the result.

The MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli theme – used generously during their first match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium – is a rather churlish one. The match is between RCB – struggling to meet their potential and CSK – punching above their might despite certain handicaps.

Teams (from): Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (Captain), Quinton de Kock, Brendon McCullum, AB de Villiers, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, Chris Woakes, Washington Sundar, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Colin de Grandhomme, Moeen Ali, Pawan Negi, Mohammed Siraj, Corey Anderson, Parthiv Patel, Tim Southee.

Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (C), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Faf du Plessis, Harbhajan Singh, Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, KM Asif, Kanishk Seth, Lungi Ngidi, Dhruv Shorey, Murali Vijay, Sam Billings, Mark Wood, Kshitiz Sharma, Monu Kumar, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur, N Jagadeesan, David Willey.

Match starts at 4:00pm IST

Live on Star Sports

Live Streaming on Hotstar