Preview CSK vs RCB IPL 2021, Match 18, April 25th, Wankhede Stadium. CSK vs RCB head to head player stats and records. Team news and match predictions for CSK vs RCB.
Key match stats CSK vs RCB preview
Venue Stats – Wankhede Stadium
- Average first innings: 167
- Average first innings winning score: 175
- Average powerplay score: 46
- All-time win % batting 1st vs batting 2nd: 47% / 52%
Find full venue stats and records here
Team form CSK vs RCB preview
- CSK – WWWL
- RCB – WWWW
- Recent meetings: IPL 2020, RCB won by 37 runs, CSK won by 8 wickets
CSK vs RCB preview IPL 2021
Who would have thought at the beginning of the season that this preview to CSK vs RCB would be a battle between the top 2? While not completely out of the realms of possibility, a lot of people were writing off CSK’s chances in IPL 2021 before a ball had even been bowled. However, as we pointed out in our analysis of the odds on finishing in the top 4 , CSK are not only a very experienced playing squad but they have a very strong coaching and management group to back them up.
What that think tank behind the scenes has done is reinvented the way that CSK go about playing T20 cricket. They must be watching the likes of Mumbai Indians struggling to come to terms with the conditions at their home venue and chuckling given the way that Stephen Flemming, MS Dhoni and co. have rejigged the Super Kings squad to adapt to the pitches at the Wankhede. They are far from the perfect squad but CSK have found a new style that is getting them the necessary results so far in IPL 2021.
Of course this match will be a real test of how far the side has come against an all conquering RCB team that barely had to break sweat to beat the Royals last time out. I’d expect a much more competitive game here on Sunday but CSK are going to have to continue to perform at their peak if they are to be the first team to take points from an encounter with RCB in IPL 2021.
CSK vs RCB head to head stats
CSK bowling vs RCB batting
The head to head of CSK vs RCB has always been billed as Dhoni vs Kohli or at least from an Indian captaincy point of view the master vs his apprentice and this fixture will be no different. Captain Dhoni has made a career out of subtle bowling changes and finding the right match-ups to thwart specific batsmen so we wait to see what he might have up his sleeve for an RCB batting line-up that is in red hot form!
One head to head that CSK are undoubtedly aware of will be that of Ravi Jadeja vs Glenn Maxwell with the left armer all over the Aussie in previous encounters. The Wankhede hasn’t exactly been a spinners paradise and yet Jadeja and Moeen Ali have managed to pick up 6 wickets between them so far and had a significantly greater impact on games than any other slow bowlers on this surface.
Of course the head to head at the top of the order that everyone will be keen to see is Deepak Chahar vs Kohli and Padikkal with all 3 players having strong starts to IPL 2021. Chahar must wish that he can take these conditions with him for every T20 match he plays in and when the balls swings and pitch offers a bit of movement then he is a threat in the powerplay.
CSK opted to bring in Ngidi for Bravo in their last match and that looked to have been a wise choice when KKR were 5 down in no time. However, CSK looked a little short of options later on in the innings and they come up against an RCB side and a player in AB de Villiers in particular that are accelerating the score in the death overs almost at will. AB has the 2nd highest strike during the last 5 over of IPL 2021 matches to date but it should be noted that he has achieved that from multiple innings (Samson’s runs all came against PBKS) and from a standing start given that he is usually batting at 4 or 5.
RCB bowling vs CSK batting
CSK will be pleased with the opening stand that they got from du Plessis and Gaikwand in their match vs KKR last time out. Gaikwand in particular had looked in very scratchy form prior to that match and they’ll be looking for the pair to kick on and lay another solid platform in this fixture.
RCB have given a good account of themselves with the ball in general during IPL 2021 but it is their death bowling that has excelled so far and in this match they come up against the team who have scored more freely during the last 5 overs than any other team this season. Much of that is of course a result of playing at the Wankhede but this looks set to be a great contest all the same.
Harshal Patel has been the chief architect of those defensive efforts at the death and he sits a top the leading wicket takers table, 3 clear of anyone else in IPL 2021. Given his head to head record against the batsmen that CSK have used so far this season, he might fancy adding a couple more wickets to his already impressive haul.
Leg spinner Chahal has struggled to get amongst the wickets so far in IPL 2021 but perhaps the greatest indication of the overall improvement in RCB as a bowling unit is that he hasn’t needed to! In previous seasons, he’s been the go to man for Kohli to get a break through but the skipper now has plenty of options at his dispossal to the extent that Chahal didn’t even bowl out in the win against the Royals. Still if he is needed then his head to head vs Suresh Raina is impressive.
All IPL player head to head records can be found here
