Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Average score at venue: 171
Win percentage while batting first: 44.19%
Pitch Conditions:
- The pitch at the Sharjah cricket stadium is a batting paradise with short ground dimensions making it difficult for the bowlers to contain opposition teams that are usually looking to rake up big scores.
- Despite this venue being totally favourable to batsmen, fast bowlers still enjoy a greater wicket-share percentage of 66.4% compared to 33.6% for the spin bowlers.
Weather prediction:
It will be a bright and sunny day on Friday in Sharjah with a small amount of scattered clouds around in the sky. The temperature will be static at 35°C with humidity percentage inching a little over 55% on Friday evening.
Head-to-head performance:
Matches played: 27
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) won: 9
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) won: 17
Tied: –
Top 3 players from Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Harshal Patel
Top 3 players from Chennai Super Kings (CSK): Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo
Top picks for H2H/WTA contest (top 5 players each)
Top 5 players from Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Virat Kohli, Harshal Patel, Devdutt Padikkal, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mohammed Siraj.
Top 5 players from Chennai Super Kings (CSK): Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu.
Q&A:
Should I pick more bowlers, batsmen or all-rounders?
A lot of factors are to be kept in mind while selecting a fantasy playing XI. Along with those who are in-form and those who are not, one must also take into consideration the venue where the contest is going to be played. The match on Friday night between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings will be played at the Sharjah Cricket Ground, which has one of the flattest pitches and some of the shortest boundaries across all venues in the world, making it a haven for the batsmen. Plenty of matches at Sharjah in Indian T20 2020 were high-scoring games, which means that both RCB and CSK will be looking to pile up big scores if they get to bat first on Friday night. Thus, it would make sense to add more to the batting strength in your fantasy playing XI.
From which team should I pick more players in my XI? Which team is stronger?
As things stand, there is not a lot that separates Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings in this year’s Indian T20. Chennai Super Kings have rediscovered their mojo and are on a roll with 6 wins in 8 matches so far. On their part, Royal Challengers Bangalore are not too far behind with 5 wins in 8 matches and a third-place spot — one behind CSK — in the Indian T20 2021 points table. Royal Challengers Bangalore have plenty of exciting players in their ranks, and the addition of Sri Lankan spin bowling all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga has added one more layer to their bowling attack, which consists of Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kyle Jamieson and a few more. Chennai Super Kings have not made any significant changes to their line-up but a robust modification to their overall approach which includes showing more intent on the field has certainly worked in their favour. Both the teams are strong enough in their own right but CSK might be just a little ahead of RCB given that they are full of surprises and fight — MS Dhoni’s Super Kings just do not give up right until the end.
MORE INFORMATION:
Players’ form: While RCB started off the second leg of Indian T20 2021 tournament with heavy defeat at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders by 9 wickets, Chennai Super Kings turned the tables against the five-time defending champions and their nemesis Mumbai Indians to win their first match in the UAE. Chennai Super Kings have some concerns in their middle order with Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni not clicking so far in Indian T20 2021, with the majority of scoring being done by the others in Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu and Moeen Ali. For Chennai to become consistent, their two senior most batsmen will have to come to the party and chip in with their performances. On the other hand, for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Virat Kohli will require more runs than he has scored so far at the opening slot whereas the middle order will have to find ways to get their way around obstacles. RCB batsmen crumbled one after the other against KKR on a pitch which had everything for batsmen, and considering that it could have been an off day for the Kohli-led side, it remains to be seen which among their batsmen are ready to take on the challenge.
Changes in squad (if any): YES
LIKELY XIs:
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Sachin Baby, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK): Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (c&wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood.
FANTASY XI:
Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), AB de Villiers (vc), Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Wanindu Hasaranga, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Josh Hazlewood.
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Chennai Super Kings look to stamp authority against Royal Challengers Bangalore
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will look to stamp their authority and solidify their standing in the Indian T20 2021 points table, wherein they are currently placed at the second spot followed by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at third. With Virat Kohli’s team struggling to make most of a strong start made to the tournament a few months ago, Chennai Super Kings will aim to extend their dominating run against a misfiring RCB.yy
RCB began Indian T20 2021 with 4 victories on the trot but since then, they have lost 3 matches and recorded a narrow 1-run victory — against Delhi Capitals — which puts their eroding form under spotlight. While the recent string of results might not just yet hurt Royal Challengers Bangalore, they cannot afford a slip up at a time when Mumbai Indians — who are known to attain their peak in the latest ages of Indian T20 tournaments — are looking to make strides in the Indian T20 2021 points table among other teams.
Kohli did not look comfortable or settled when he was dismissed for cheap against KKR, which sparked a collapse in the RCB batting line-up for them to be bowled out for 92 and culminated in a 9-wicket defeat.
RCB bowlers could not produce the magic which KKR bowlers were able to earlier in the innings, and went on to lose the contest by a huge margin which certainly would have damaged reputation to some extent and also affected a significant change in the Net Run Rate for Kohli’s team.
Wanindu Hasaranga is certainly one of the most exciting players to watch out for in the Indian T20 2021 tournament but the Sri Lankan all-rounder will take his own time to find his feet in the world’s biggest T20 cricket competition.
For that matter, RCB have plenty of exciting cricketers in their squad but they are on a downward spiral and their rapid fall needs to be addressed soon.
Chennai Super Kings had a lot to credit Gaekwad for delivering them a victory which did not look possible at one stage against Mumbai Indians, when they were struggling at 23/4. The young Indian opening batsman produced a spectacular innings of 88 which powered Chennai Super Kings to a respectable total, and from thereon, their bowlers did a fine job in restricting Mumbai Indians in their 20-run victory.
It will certainly be an uphill challenge for Royal Challengers Bangalore to bounce back against the team which has dominated them across Indian T20 history. In 27 matches played so far between CSK and RCB, the Super Kings have won 19, compared to RCB’s 7. In their last five meetings, CSK have won 3 matches compared to RCB’s 2. Additionally, Dhoni’s team returned as the happier bunch in their last two meetings, winning by 8 wickets and 69 runs respectively.
