CSK to continue where they left off

Two teams that have had mixed fortunes since the Indian Premier League resumed on Sunday go head to head as Sharjah hosts Match 35 which sees Royal Challengers Bangalore take on the Chennai Super Kings. It was a thumping defeat last time out for RCB as they got pummelled by the Kolkata Knight Riders, whereas CSK managed to topple the top dogs as they narrowly beat the Mumbai Indians.

Will Sharjah bring runs

The last time the IPL went to Dubai in 2020, one of the things it was known for was the fact that whenever anyone played at Sharjah, there was always plenty of runs on display. And I am sure that fans and officials alike will be hoping for the same, when the postage stamp ground hosts its first game back since the restart of the competition on Friday. At the time of writing, three of the four games in this phase of the IPL have been relatively low scoring, with the Punjab Kings vs Rajasthan Royals match the only exception.

CSK managed to pluck themselves a victory after an abysmal start against the Mumbai Indians on Sunday after they were reduced to 24-4 at the end of the powerplay, as well as having Ambati Rayudu retired hurt. But a gutsy 88* from Ruturaj Gaikwad and cameos from Ravi Jadeja (26) and Dwayne Bravo (23), the latter coming from just 8 balls, saw the Super Kings post a competitive 156.

Tight spells from Deepak Chahar and Moeen Ali, who both went at under 5.5, kept MI under control, before three wickets from Bravo ensured in the end, a comfortable 20 run victory, which temporarily saw the team in yellow sitting pretty at the top of the table.

Final hoorah

Mr RCB himself has decided that this is the last campaign that he will take the reins, and he will be hoping that this is the year that he can finally get his hands on that golden trophy.

It wasn’t to be last time out, as RCB got pretty much everything wrong after being dismissed for just 92 against KKR, before the runs were knocked off in just 60 balls, with 9 wickets left in the tank. Kohli will be hoping it is just first game rustiness as his team will look to bounce back in Sharjah on Friday.

Match Tip

Virat is as determined as ever and after CSK’s very poor powerplay last time out, this seems like a logical one.

This is why I am backing RCB to score more runs in the powerplay than CSK, in the match between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Chennai Super Kings at 1.90 with Betway.

Bet Royal Challengers Bangalore to score more runs in the powerplay on Betway