IPL 2020 Match 25 RCB v CSK Betting Preview

Match Details
Chennai Super Kings v Royal Challengers Bangalore
Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Saturday,10th October
16:00 SA Time

IPL 2020: Match 25 – Chennai Super Kings (CSK) v Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Preview, Prediction, Probable Playing XI and Value bets.

Betting Preview

It will be an interesting captaincy battle between MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli as a rather dejected Chennai Super Kings (CSK) take on a somewhat confident Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB) in the 25th match of this edition of IPL. CSK has 4 points in their bag winning just 2 of the 6 games they played while RCB have 6 points with 3 wins in 5 games.

In the 23 games that the two sides have played against each other so far, CSK has the upper hand winning 15 of them while RCB has won just 8.

After winning the season opener against MI quite convincingly, CSK’s campaign went down in shambles as they lost three games on the trot. However, after the three-match losing streak, CSK bounced back strongly and produced a near perfect performance against KXIP by chasing down 178 runs with more than two overs to spare and all 10 wickets in hand only to lose their next game against KKR after looking in command for majority of the duration of the game.

Even though it has a very strong opening pair of Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson, they lack a solid middle-order batsman who can anchor their innings in the middle overs and set the stage for finishers like Dhoni and Bravo to come and do their job. Kedar Jadhav has been impotent so far in doing so and his form has been one of the major causes of CSK’s nightmarish run this season. Their bowling department hasn’t been much of a concern as they have delivered in almost every game with the ball, except for the match against RR in Sharjah, restricting opponents to a mediocre total time and again.

Dhoni, however, has failed to close in on games that CSK would have won on multiple occasions. Hence, this game becomes extremely crucial for CSK as they desperately need these 2 points moving forward to keep their chances alive this season.

RCB come into the game after a disappointing loss against DC where they looked clueless yet again in a high-total run chase. Having lost thee of their in-form batsmen for just 43 runs in the powerplay, RCB never really overcame the setback of the collapse with only Virat Kohli showing some grit and determination but getting no support from the other end as RCB faltered for a paltry 137 runs, losing the game by 59 runs. The only two games that RCB have lost this season have both come in chasing down a near-200 total but with a batting line-up that has Finch, ABD and Kohli, it is a very unexpected outcome.

The lower-middle order woes continue for RCB and other than the top 4 batsmen, no one else can be trusted to go on and finish a match for the franchise and an early batting collapse almost ensures RCB’s loss. Even their bowlers are failing to deliver and Virat’s tactics of bowling spin in the death have proven to be disastrous for the side.

The bowling is way too dependent on Chahal and to and extent, Sundar but they will hardly trouble CSK batsmen who are known to be good players of spin. As Kohli hinted after the loss against DC, RCB would hope that the inclusion of Chris Morris has a positive impact on the death overs making their death bowling slightly better. However, on paper, RCB looks a much stronger side and CSK will have to be at the best of their game if they are to win this contest.

Injury and Availability News

No major concerns in the injury and availability department for either of the sides.

Probable Playing XI

Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni ( c&wk ), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Sam Curran, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Shivam Dube, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Washington Sundar, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, Chris Morris, Yuzvendra Chahal

Key Players to watch out for

Faf du Plessis: CSK’s best batsman this season, Faf has scored 299 runs in his 6 games with an average of around 75 and a staggering strike rate of over 150. He is also the second highest run-getter this season behind KL Rahul. His contributions with the bat have been instrumental in CSK’s victories and he will be depended upon yet again for a solid start to the innings and some quick runs in the powerplay making him a key player to watch out for.

Devdutt Padikkal: RCB’s best find of the season, Padikkal has so far been their most consistent batsman this season scoring three fifties in just his first four games. He has amassed 178 runs in his 5 matches at an average of 35.60 and is RCB’s leading run-scorer in the tournament as of yet. He is an exceptional fielder and his commitment and fearless stroke-play at the start of the innings make him a trump card for RCB as he will be expected to give Bangalore a solid start like he has done multiple times now.

Virat Kohli: Virat Kohli is inarguably the best white-ball player in the world and a phenomenal leader. The all-time highest run-scorer in the history of the League, Virat has been a force to reckon with at the RCB. Finally finding his form in the game against RR, Kohli went on to score 72 runs pioneering the run chase and looked as elegant and majestic as ever Even in the game against DC he was the only Bangalore batsman to show some character and fight but in a losing cause. With him back in form, it will be a tough task for the CSK bowlers to contain him.

Value Betting

Chennai Super Kings

Faf du Plessis to be Chennai Super Kings best batsman at 2.50

Lungi Ngidi to be Chennai Super Kings best bowler at 2.50

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Virat Kohli to be Royal Challengers Bangalore best batsman at 2.00

Yuzvendra Chahal to be Royal Challengers Bangalore best bowler at 2.25

Prediction: RCB to win the match at 0.74