IPL 2018: Match 17, Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals - Expectation vs Reality

The seventeenth encounter is between two sides that are making a comeback after the 2-year-ban. Chennai Super Kings will welcome Rajasthan Royals to their newly adopted home in Pune after all their home matches were shifted out of Chennai. CSK have a good record against RR as they lead 11-6 in the Head to Head battle but whether that will continue at their encounter in Pune will be interesting to see.

While CSK will have a lot to take confidence from in the games they have played so far, having won two and almost winning one. In the absence of Suresh Raina due to injury, the Chennai Super Kings seemed to have compensated for that loss as batsmen like Ambati Rayudu stood up. Apart from that, if MS Dhoni’s knock is an indicator of what we have in store, viewers are in for a ride.

Rajasthan Royals, on the other hand, look far from being the team that has the potential to go all the way. However, it is only because Ben Stokes, D’Arcy Short, and Jos Buttler have not looked their absolute best so far. More so, they will be hoping to add Jofra Archer in their scheme of things ASAP, who can prove to be a match-winner alone.

We have a few expectations for tomorrow’s game, do you too?

Ravindra Jadeja to come good

Sir Jadeja has looked far from his best in the ongoing season with the ball. In the three games played, he has taken only one wicket, which came against Kolkata Knight Riders. The last time the two sides met, which was in 2015, Jadeja had scalped 4 wickets.

The gut feeling suggests that we may well see Jadeja coming back to his usual self for CSK in the encounter against RR. He may not pick 4 wickets again, but expect him to do something more substantial than what his otherwise underwhelming presence has looked like.

Rahane-Tripathi opening duo

D’Arcy Short did score a fifty in the last match but anybody who watched it will know how painful it was. It was a struggling one to say the least, however, if Shane Warne has realized his vulnerability to spin, either he will be working on improvising on it or bring in someone like Heinrich Klassen who smashed the Indian spinners in South Africa.

If the latter happens, we may well see Rahul Tripathi back to his original batting position, one where he is comfortable at. However, it is a far-fetched expectation to see so many changes happening changes happening, more so when Short has a 50 to back himself up.