IPL 2022: Match 68- Predicted Chennai Super Kings XI vs Rajasthan Royals

Chennai Super Kings will face off against Rajasthan Royals on 20th May, Friday at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, in the 68th match of IPL 2022. MS Dhoni’s side has had a forgetful tournament this year as they are 2nd last in the points table with just four wins in 13 games.

CSK is coming into this game after suffering a seven-wicket loss against table-toppers Gujarat Titans. The yellow army will be hoping to finish off the season on a high with a victory against the Royals. Since there isn’t anything to play for Chennai, they might look to give chances to a few new faces.

Chennai Super Kings Predicted XI against Rajasthan Royals.

Openers: Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway

The opening pair of Gaikwad and Conway has been one of the few bright spots for CSK in their bleak season. Their 182-run stand against Sunrisers is the 2nd highest opening stand this season. They shared another century-run partnership against DC, as they won the game by 91 runs.

Gaikwad struggled in the early stages of the tournament but regained his form in the later stages. Conway has looked in tremendous touch and has scored 236 runs in just six innings. The Kiwi opener will be looking to add to his tally after a disappointing performance against the Titans in the previous encounter.

Middle-Order: Narayan Jagadeesan, Shivam Dube, and MS Dhoni (C & WK)

Narayan Jagadeeshan has been one of the new faces in the batting lineup for CSK. He was brought in place of Ambati Rayudu in the previous game, and the right-hander had a decent outing as he scored an unbeaten 39 of 32 balls.

Shivam Dube started the season really well but has faded away since the tournament progressed. His knock of 95 runs off 46 balls against RCB is one of the best innings of the tournament. The southpaw has bowled just two overs this year as he has been playing as an in-and-out batter in the side. He has scored 289 runs with two half-centuries to his name.

Dhoni’s form has been another concern for the Super Kings as the former Indian skipper has looked out of sorts and has failed to leave an impression. But the skipper has marshaled the troops well after taking over the captaincy from Ravindra Jadeja and will be looking to score some runs in the final game.

All-Rounders: Moeen Ali and Mitchell Santner

Moeen Ali has had a disappointing season for the Chennai franchise. He was retained by the Chennai Super Kings but has failed to leave a mark in this year’s tournament. He has scored 151 runs with the bat to go with seven wickets with the ball in 9 games. The Englishman will be looking to add to his tally in the game against RR.

Mitchell Santner has played just 5 games this season and has picked up 3 wickets. Although the Kiwi has been economical for CSK, they expected more from him with the ball as well as with the bat.

Bowlers: Prashant Solanki, Simarjeet Singh, Matheesha Pathirana, and Mukesh Choudhary

The Chennai Super Kings picked Prashant Solanki at a whopping price of INR 1.2 Crore in the auctions and the young leggie was handed his IPL debut in the previous game against GT. He finished wicketless but conceded just 18 runs in his four overs. This makes him someone to look for in the future.

Another debutant for CSK in the last game was Matheesha Pathirana, who was impressive in the match, with his 2 for 21 in 3.1 overs. But the striking resemblance of his action with Lasith Malinga was the talking point of the game. He struck with his first ball in the tournament as Shumbhan Gill was caught in front, duped by his slinging action.

Mukesh Choudhary has been the find of the season for CSK. The left-arm quick has picked up 16 wickets in his debut season, and his exploits with the new ball have impressed many people. His partnership with Deepak Chahar will be something to look forward to in next year’s IPL.

Predicted Playing XI for CSK against RR: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, N Jagadeesan, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Mitchell Santner, Prashant Solanki, Simarjeet Singh, Matheesha Pathirana, Mukesh Choudhary.