Chennai Super Kings travel to Bengaluru on Sunday in the kind of form that makes for uncomfortable reading. Two games played, two defeats, and a bowling attack that has shipped 338 runs in just 30.5 overs for seven wickets. Royal Challengers Bengaluru, rested, confident, and defending champions, are waiting.
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RCB have had a week off since their six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 28. Virat Kohli is in his element at the top of the order. Devdutt Padikkal announced himself with a 26-ball 61 against SRH, and Rajat Patidar is leading the side with a calm head while contributing in the middle. The Chinnaswamy, with its short boundaries, suits this batting lineup perfectly.
What makes RCB a more complete side this season is their bowling. For years it was the department that cost them. Not anymore. Jacob Duffy stepped in for the injured Josh Hazlewood and dismantled the SRH top order with a three-wicket haul on debut. When Hazlewood eventually returns, RCB’s attack will be even more dangerous. Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma have been effective in the middle overs, and the hosts may also hand a game to left-arm pacer Mangesh Yadav for this fixture.
CSK, by contrast, have nothing going right with the ball. Their spinners Noor Ahmad and Rahul Chahar conceded 84 runs between them in eight overs against Punjab on Friday, on a surface with no dew. Matt Henry, Khaleel Ahmed, and Anshul Kamboj have not offered much either. Facing RCB’s top order at the Chinnaswamy is the last fixture a struggling bowling attack needs.
The one spark in CSK’s batting is Ayush Mhatre, who has shown genuine class in his early outings. But the bigger concern is Sanju Samson, whose scores of 6 and 7 have robbed Chennai of the strong platform they bought him for. A Kerala vs Karnataka rivalry match on enemy soil might be exactly the occasion to snap out of it.
CSK’s campaign is not beyond saving, but another defeat on Sunday would make the road back very steep, very fast.
