What

Match 35 of VIVO IPL 2018 will be the return fixture of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings – this time the former visiting Pune.

CSK slipped down one place from the top of the VIVO IPL 2018 standings after they lost their previous match to the Kolkata Knight Riders. CSK have 6 wins and 3 losses, and a win in this match will once again take them to the top of the table and a step closer to the playoffs. In reviewing their performance in the previous match, the two-time champions would have identified the lack of discipline in bowling and their sloppy fielding as areas to improve upon.

Unlike some of the other teams in the bottom half of the table who can ill afford another loss, RCB have just a little breathing room – not that they would want to lose. RCB will take plenty of confidence from their performance in the previous match; they were able to defeat the Mumbai Indians without AB de Villiers in their ranks, and the bowlers, who had come in for plenty of stick until then, stepped up with perhaps their best-showing of the season.

AB de Villiers, who missed the last two matches because of viral fever,was seen traveling with the squad, and will most likely take the place of Quinton de Kock, who has taken leave of absence. RCB need to figure out who dons the gloves behind the stumps.

When

5May 2018, 1600Hrs (IST)

Where

MCA’s International Stadium, Pune

Impact Batsmen

Ambati Rayudu - among the batsmen in the top three, and MS Dhoni in the middle-order, are CSK’s men in form.Rayudu has batted with a newfound confidence, has been a picture of consistency – and as a result is the team’s top run-getter this season. Dhonimeanwhile has been constantly applying the finishing touches – in some style too.

RCB definitely need a big score from their captain Virat Kohli. The 29-year old has scored runs on every visit to the middle this season – though he will be disappointed that he hasn’t been able to get past the 50-run mark on more than three occasions. Virat was extremely disappointed after the loss to CSK in Bengaluru; will he play a captain’s knock and lead his team’s cause of exacting revenge?

Impact Bowlers

Lungi Ngidi and KM Asif have been impressive with the pace they’ve bowled at, and will hope to replicate, or improve on, the performance in their debut match.

RCB will hope their pace bowlers – Tim Southee and Umesh Yadav – can strike early and exert control at the end. Umesh has been exceptional in the first six overs; 10 of his 11 wickets this season have been wickets taken in the powerplay, his economy rate during that period an outstanding 6.33.

CSK’s struggles against spin are well documented. That, and the big boundaries in Pune mean YuzvendraChahal will have a big role to play too. Even in CSK’s run-chase of 205 in Bengaluru, the leg-spinner finished with outstanding figures of 2-26 from his four overs.

Team Head to Head

Overall: Matches – 21, Chennai Super Kings won – 13, Royal Challengers Bangalore won – 7, No Result – 1

CSK have defeated RCB in the last five matches between the two teams. In the most-recent match between these two teams – in Bengaluru on April 25, MS Dhoni scored a sensational 70 (off 34 balls) to power CSK’s successful chase of 206.

Trivia

In IPL matches in Pune, teams have won 5 of the 6 matches when they’ve scored more than 185 batting first.

The Chennai Super Kings have batted first in all three VIVO IPL 2018 matches in Pune; their first innings totals in the three matches – 204-5, 169-5 and 211-4.

MS Dhoni has been at the losing end of the coin-toss in the last six matches at the MCA International Stadium in Pune; the last time he won the toss in a match in Pune was 22 April 2016!

What Next

The Chennai Super Kings will enjoy a 5-day break before they head out to Jaipur for their away match against Rajasthan Royals, scheduled to be played on May 11. RCB will play the second of their four consecutive away matches stretch in Hyderabad on May 7.