IPL 2022 CSK vs RCB Preview - Beware the wounded lion

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Key match stats CSK vs RCB

Pitch Stats – DY Patil Stadium

Average first innings score: 152
Average first innings winning score: 168
Average powerplay score: 43
All-time win % batting 1st vs batting 2nd: 39% / 61%

Team form CSK vs RCB
CSK – LLLL
RCB – LWWW
Recent meetings: CSK won by 6 wickets, CSK won by 69 runs

CSK vs RCB Preview

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Things have gone from bad to worse for reigning champions CSK as they lost their 4th game in a row against a Sunrisers team who at the time had also yet to register a win in 2022.

What a difference a year makes! In 2021, CSK looked like a well oiled machine, packed full of experienced T20 cricketers with all bases covered. This year they look a shambles of a squad with a few guys well passed their prime and some glaring holes in key departments.

Take for example their powerplay bowling which at the moment has the worst economy rate while simultaneously taking the fewest wickets!

TeamAverage PP EconomyTotals PP wickets in 2022
CSK8.62
LSG8.46
RCB8.04

Highest bowling economy rates in the powerplay during IPL 2022 - full stats here

Yes, they've been unlucky with the injury to Deepak Chahar in that regard but surely a professional outfit like Chennai knows you can't put all your eggs in one basket, especially when it comes to the fitness of fast bowlers!

As if that wasn't bad enough, CSK are also losing more wickets on average than anyone else in the powerplay so far this year. In other words, whether batting or bowling first this is a CSK side that is consistently chasing the game and in a league as competitive as the IPL the chances of success when you give the opposition a head start are always slim.

YearAverage PP scoreAverage wickets lost during PP
2022442.3
202145.50.9

CSK average powerplay score IPL 2021 vs IPL 2022

Of course one of the big talking points coming into this match will be the return of Faf du Plessis against his old club. Given the above stat that shows how solid CSK were at the top of the order last year compared to this (scoring more freely and losing far fewer wickets) not to mention the apparent gap in leadership that now exists, the decision to release Faf is looking more and more costly with each passing defeat.

As for RCB, they've been solid if not spectacular so far and it's really their bowling strength that has seen them grind out 3 wins in a row.

They'll be wary here against a CSK that has meted out some heavy defeats on them in the recent past and is now in a situation where they don't have much to lose.

In any IPL season, CSK vs RCB is one of the stand out fixtures. It's Dhoni vs Kohli, it's frequent champions vs perennial underachievers and as always it should be a tense match with plenty of twists and turns.

CSK vs RCB head to head

RCB bowling vs CSK batting

We've mentioned Faf du Plessis' move from CSK to RCB but in bowling terms the other major loss for the men in yellow is Josh Hazlewood who looks likely to make his RCB debut in this fixture.

Having Hazlewood available will certainly keep the pressure on this struggling CSK top order (as noted above) but it will also help to plug the gap left by Harshal Patel who is not likely to play tonight due to family reasons.

They'll be a few batsmen in the CSK side most notably Ambati Rayudu (dismissed 5 times by Harshal before, Ave 10.8, S/R 122) and MS Dhoni (dimissed twice by Harshal before, Ave 12, S/R 77) who'll be relieved to hear that Harshal isn't available for this game and it does raise the question of who will fill his role in the middle and death overs?

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Siraj death bowling stats so far in IPL 2022

Mohammed Siraj has bowled 6 overs at the death so far in IPL 2022 and as his stats above show has been very expensive! By contrast, Harshal is going at just 8.4 an over at the death.

The big question is whether CSK's top order can lay the platform for them to try and expose this weakness later on in the innings?

CSK bowling vs RCB batting

Penetration in the powerplay has been an issue for CSK this year as we've noted above and in their last match, also at the DY Patil Stadium, they opted to open with spin which is very much the go to tactic for most sides at this venue.

CSK might be tempted to give Moeen Ali a go early in this game. His head to head record against Faf du Plessis is positive while the RCB skippers career stats against right-arm finger spin are less than brilliant.

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Faf career T20 stats vs right-arm finger spin

The solidity of the RCB opening pair means that Virat Kohli has generally been able to sit with his feet up at least for the early part of RCB's first 4 games. During that period, Kohli has faced just 7 balls in the powerplay!

He'll fancy his chances against this CSK bowling attack and given his vast experience and the length of time some of the opposition bowlers have been going in the IPL, there are some rich head to head stats to choose from.

Perhaps the one that really stands out is against record IPL wicket taker Dwayne Bravo. Only 1 of his 173 IPL wickets has come against Kohli (he's also dismissed him in an India vs WI T20 game in 2016), although that did occur the last time these 2 teams met, so who knows, perhaps it's time for DJ Bravo to turn the tide?

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Bravo vs Kohli T20 head to head

Another player who was surplus to requirements with bat in hand in his first game of the season for RCB was Glen Maxwell. Unlike Kohli, his record against a few of these CSK bowlers is very poor (dismissed 4 times each by Bravo and Jordan) but it's his battle against Ravi Jadeja that could be really key.

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Jadeja vs Maxwell T20 head to head

Maxwell's role will be to take on the CSK spinners and Jadeja looks like he will be a crucial part in preventing the Aussie from getting going in IPL 2022.

All stats used in this blog are from my own database. Images are my own with the exception of player profiles and background images from the below sources and used under a creative commons license or otherwise royalty free

https://www.iplt20.com/
https://pixabay.com/images/search/cricket%20stadium/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

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Well,here is one thing thats true I think,RCB has seemingly the best batting trios and potent striking strength,but where they always struggle is ; at the bowling point.

Chinnaswami Stadium is one I think made for blowing the ball out of the rooftop.
And so pitch was designed in that way.
But, dont know why the team management doesnt pay heed to the bowling perfection.

So odd!! Its funny also to see that frequent 200+ scores are not enough to defend and the team coughs out in pressure, haha!!.

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Certainly that has been true of previous RCB sides but this is a different team with a different ethos. As you say the Chinnaswami Stadium is ideal for big hitting batsmen but 3 years away from their home has forced RCB to have a re-think about how they approach matches.

This is arguably the best balanced team they've ever had and with CSK and MI both struggling, it's also arguably the best chance they've had to win the IPL in recent times.

As last night's performance shows and my preview predicted, they desperately missed Harshal Patel in those middle and death overs in last nights game.

!BEER

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