Preview: Royals haven’t had the kind of start they were looking for as they lost both their opening games to Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders, respectively. The side is being led by Riyan Parag for the first three games as regular skipper Sanju Samson is recovering from his finger injury and playing solely as a batter (impact player). In their first game against SRH, the side had a disappointing outing with the ball as the opposition side posted a gigantic total of 286/6. However, Samson and Dhruv Jurel gave the side some moments of hope, but they fell short of the target by 44 runs. After being asked to bat first in their following game against the defending champions, Parag & Co. managed to score just 151 runs in their allotted 20 overs. In reply, KKR chased down the target with relative ease, courtesy of a match-winning knock by Quinton de Kock. On the other hand, the five-time champions, CSK, began their campaign on a high, defeating Mumbai Indians comfortably by four wickets. Noor Ahmed was the wrecker-in-chief with the ball as he dismantled MI’s batting line-up, claiming four wickets. The home team later chased down the target with five balls to spare. However, the team will be disheartened by their previous match performance against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the iconic ‘Southern-Derby’. RCB, who batted exceptionally well in the first innings, put up a score of 1,96, which looked tough to achieve on Chepauk’s wicket.
However, the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led team lost wickets in regular intervals and were always behind in the chase. With a run-rate soaring over 15, the CSK batters crumbled under pressure and eventually lost the game by 50 runs. Notably, RCB ended their 17-year-long Chennai jinx against CSK. The Men in Yellow, will be looking to bounce back from this defeat and go back to winning ways.
Indian Premier League 2025, 11th Match, RR vs CSK
Venue: Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
Date & Time: Sunday, March 30, 07:30 PM
Pitch Report: The Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati has seen an 8.57 run rate across the IPL matches it has hosted. However, the surface is slightly dry with minimal grass cover, meaning spin will play a crucial role, especially in the middle overs. While teams have crossed the 200-run mark, here and another one is expected on the cards. Fast bowlers won’t get much seam movement, but spinners could extract some turn. The batters will enjoy the wicket as they will be able to play their shots freely.
PROBABLE PLAYING XI
Rajasthan Royals (RR): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag(c), Dhruv Jurel(w), Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma
Chennai Super Kings (CSK): Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Deepak Hooda, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Matheesha Pathirana, Khaleel Ahmed
