IPL 2022: Match 22- Predicted Royal Challengers Bangalore Playing XI vs Chennai Super Kings

Royal Challengers Bangalore will be locking horns with Chennai Super Kings in Match 22 of IPL 2022 at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai on April 12. RCB will be pumped up, heading into this contest after an emphatic seven-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in their previous encounter. CSK, on the other hand, have lost all their four games.

Bangalore have been exceptional with the bat and ball this season, and a special mention needs to be given to their rock-solid batters, who have stood up when it really mattered by contributing with match-winning knocks. Despite winning their last match comfortably, RCB would be making a couple of changes against CSK. While one will be an inclusion of a foreign pacer, the other is a forced change.

Here’s a look at the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Probable Playing XI against Chennai Super Kings

Openers: Faf du Plessis (c) and Anuj Rawat

Faf du Plessis kicked off his 2022 season with a blistering 57-ball 88 against Punjab Kings, but then saw a dip in his consistency from thereon. He could only manage 50 runs in the next three matches and has so far amassed 138 runs averaging 34.50 with a strike rate of 131.43. The Proteas icon would be expected to come out all guns blazing against his former franchise Chennai.

Anuj Rawat roared back to form in the last game against Mumbai with a match-winning 47-ball 66. He showed great courage against the MI bowling attack and would be oozing with confidence as he looks forward to replicating his performance against the defending champions.

Middle Order: Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik (wk)

After his impressive 41 in the tournament opener against PBKS, Virat Kohli made his bat do the talking brilliantly in the last match against Mumbai Indians as he anchored the chase with a 36-ball 48. He was deprived of a well-deserved half-century after being given a doubtful lbw off Dewald Brevis. With two 40s this season, Kohli would be eyeing a big score against the Chennai Super Kings.

Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik is yet to be dismissed this season. He has been RCB’s saviour with some memorable performances in the middle order, which has helped the team’s cause. The veteran wicketkeeper-batter has so far managed 97 runs from four outings and would be hoping to contribute with an impactful knock.

All-Rounders: Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed and Wanindu Hasaranga

Glenn Maxwell hit the winning runs in the last match against MI as he struck Dewald Brevis for two consecutive fours in the penultimate over to end the proceedings. Maxwell was one of Bangalore’s mandatory retentions for this season. He was RCB’s leading run-scorer in 2021 with 513 runs from 15 matches. The Australian power-hitter can also provide breakthroughs with his right-arm off-break and has picked up 22 wickets from 97 IPL matches at an economy rate of 8.55.

Shahbaz Ahmed, on the other hand, has proved his mettle as a middle-order batter. In the last four games, he has scored 72 runs but is yet to feature in the wickets column with the ball in hand. Ahmed has so far registered nine scalps to his name from 17 appearances in IPL. He would be expected to work in tandem with Glenn Maxwell with his all-round abilities.

Wanindu Hasaranga has been the most consistent performer with the ball in hand for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The Sri Lankan spinner has picked up eight wickets from four matches at an economy rate of 7.50.

Bowlers: Josh Hazlewood, Siddarth Kaul, Akash Deep, and Mohammed Siraj

Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood could make his debut for RCB. The tall speedster, who is likely to replace David Willey, picked up 11 wickets from nine games for CSK last season. Siddarth Kaul will be replacing pacer Harshal Patel, who has gone back home due to personal reasons. Kaul has registered 58 scalps to his name from 54 IPL  appearances so far.

Uncapped player Akash Deep has been really impressive with the ball in his debut season. He has so far picked up five wickets from four matches. Mohammed Siraj has been RCB’s pace spearhead for a while. The Hyderabad fast bowling sensation, who was also the franchise’s mandatory retention for this tournament, has only managed three wickets from four matches this season. He would be eager to make the ball do the talking against the title-holders.

RCB Playing XI:

Faf du Plessis (c), Anuj Rawat, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga, Siddarth Kaul, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj