IPL 2020 | CSK vs RCB: Match Preview, Predicted XI & Dream11 Fantasy Picks

CSK vs MI: Hits & Flops as Sam Curran remains lone man standing in Mumbai's rout of Daddies’ Army

It was yet another ‘CSK’ kind of day in the 13th edition of the IPL as the team which created its identity with it’s ‘never give up’ attitude, has suddenly been transformed into a bunch of ‘no intent’ players who keep on loosing the games shamelessly, lost yet another one. Chennai Super Kings was served a humongous 10 wickets loss, for the first time in their history as Ishan Kishan and Quinton de Kock powered Mumbai with a 116 run opening partnership to chase down 115 sets up by a dismal batting unit of the Super Kings. With this win in Sharjah, Rohit Sharma and Co. have now moved on to the top of the table, while Chennai still languishes at the bottom. Rohit Sharma was out of this game due to injury tough. On this note, let us have a look at the Hits and Flops from the game. Hits #1 Sam Curran What is a hit in a game, something that is out of the box, something that forces someone to sit and appreciate a person or thing which has stood out of its league? In this match, Sam Curran, therefore, remains the biggest hit for standing in the face of the opposition, even when all chips were down for him. No doubt, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ishan Kishan too performed brilliantly, but they did so in the conditions that were purely suited for them and if am being too harsh, then at least in conditions that were more favorable to the, as compared to Curran. The Englishman made 52 off 47 balls and also created the highest ever 9th wicket partnership in the IPL after adding 43 runs with Imran Tahir. Curran’s innings was an example of how to bat with the tail. He hit four fours and two sixes in his innings. #2 Trent Boult Given the ball in swinging conditions, Boult did what he is known for – swing the ball. Right from the first over he got the ball moving and also got Rurturaj Gaikwad, the youngster out for an inswinger for the right-hander and out for the left-arm pacer. In the entire game, the Kiwi bowler picked four wickets, picking one in each of his four overs, endi9ng the inning by getting Curran bowed on the last ball and ending up with the figures of 4/18. For his brilliant performance, the Kiwi was also awarded the Man of the Match award. #3 Ishan Kishan The third-place could have also gone to Bumrah, but not after how the Jharkhand man batted without any fear and as if there was no tomorrow, making every inch of the opportunity to open the innings, given to him in the absence of Rohit, count. The left-hander made 68 of 37 balls and was the key factor in finishing the match in the 13th over itself. His innings was well distributed with boundary and sixes as he hit five maximums to complement the six fours. Kishan has so far been one amazing find of the tournament for the MI team going into the future. Flops #1 Faf du Plessis The man with the most runs for the CSK outfit this season has been lagging behind since the last three games and today was no different. Coming to open the innings, the South African not only ate up deliveries at the start but also failed to make those balls count as he lost his wicket pretty soon as well. Du Plessis played seven balls and scored just one run. In the last six innings that he has played for the CSK, his only significant contribution has been against Delhi Capitals where he made 58 off 47 balls, rest all were not up to the standard associated with du Plessis. #2 Ambati Rayudu In the last game, CSK skipper MS Dhoni had said that the youngsters ‘lack’ spark in them. Today, two youngsters in the form of Rutruraj Gaikwad and Narayan Jagdeeshan were added to the team, bit got out on a duck. It was at this moment that senior Pros like Ambati Rayudu needed to stay at the crease and show the rest of the batsmen to how you bat in difficult situations. However, instead of doing that, the 35 years old Andhra born got out to Jasprit Bumrah of just two balls, scoring only three runs. There could have been many in the Flops list from the CSK. Now, they really need to show intent and come to all guns blazing to show what they are made up of. They would love to win the rest of their three games to salvage some pride for themselves and their fans as well.;

IPL 2020 | CSK vs MI: Boult thunders as Chennai are sent packing out of the tournament

Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings: 114/9 (20.0 Sam Curran- 52 (47) Trent Boult- 4/18 MS Dhoni-16 (16) Mumbai Indians: 116/0 (12.2) Ishan Kishan- 68 (37) Quinton de Kock- 46 (37) Ishan Kishan utilized the opportunity to bat up the order as he combined with South African Quinton de Kock to give Chennai Super Kings their first-ever 10 wicket defeat in Indian Premier League’s history. Kishan’s unbeaten 68 off 37 was, more than enough to chase down a tiny total of 115 set up by Chennai in Sharjah. But that was just the icing on the cake for the Mumbai team, as the cake was prepared by the bowlers, in particular Trent Boult. The Thunder-Boult Strikes! Bowlers are meant to win few games singlehandedly in the league stage and this game was Boult’s chance to prove that right and what a way to do it. On a swinging pitch, his captain had won the toss and given him the situation for which his bowling is considered magical. Swinging the ball into the right-handers, Boult made an early impact claiming the wickets of two openers. He then took a wicket each in the next of his two spells, dismissing the only batsman to have stood out for Chennai, Sam Curran on the last bowl of the innings. The misery continues for CSK batsmen CSK captain MS Dhoni, after losing the match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore had said that he would rather lose getting all out in the 17th over than play 20 without any intent. However, even after that, there has been no intent shown by the yellow brigade in the batting department. Standing by his promise to give chances to young guys, after the last game defeat, Dhoni did play two youngsters in Jagadeeshan and Ruturaj Gaikwad. But neither of them could do anything as they went out for ducks. The rest of the batsmen, apart from Sam Curran and the tail-enders who stood with Curran, looked really clueless as one wicket fell after another to put them at 43/7 in just nine overs. Curran remains the only positive for CSK in the entire tournament From 43/7, it was Curran only who combined with the tail in the form of Shardul Thakur and Imran Tahir to make sure that the team played the full quota of 20 overs. In the meantime, he also created an IPL record for the highest ninth-wicket partnership in the league’s history of 13 years. Curran and Tahir put on 43 runs off 31 deliveries to take Chennai out of humiliation. The English man put on 52 of 47 balls and gave the fans - the Yellow Army at least something to cheer about. Ishan shines as CSK bowlers fail to get even a single breakthrough Even after Dhoni's failure has made the people of the eastern part of the country a bit remorseful of IPL, there is someone that has kept the smaller bit younger position of that population up and kicking with joy and that is none other than Jharkhand’s own new Superstar Ishan Kishan. In this match too he shone bright and took the match away from his childhood hero’s team, hitting the bowlers right left and centre of the ground, giving them no opportunities what so ever to get even a single wicket. However there was one opportunity, a slight chance, but the catch was missed by Rururaj at mid-on. He was flawless with the bat and is also a good bet with the bat, in place of Rishabh Pant; he could be tried for India. The CSK bowlers looked tired demotivated as 114 never looked like a defendable total one bit. But not being able to pick even a single wicket and giving runs away at almost 10 an over to finish the match in the 13th over itself was something unacceptable. The game’s over for CSK Although the Hindi commentators during the broadcast of the match argue with the stats saying that Dhoni’s team has an outside chance of qualifying if they go on to win the rest of their three matches with handsome margins. However, that was nothing but wishful thinking on their part as on current form, the Daddies’ Army doesn’t even look like even challenging the teams like King XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Royal Challengers Bangalore, let alone winning handsomely. For MI, the goal is clear, they just have to remain in the top two of the points table. For that to happen, they need to win two of their four games against Sunrisers Hyderabad, RCB Delhi Capitals, and Rajasthan Royals.

IPL 2020 | CSK vs MI: Whats experts said as Mumbai annihilates 'sparkless' Super Kings

On the night when the Chennai Super Kings needed to play all their cards right, the men in yellow were bamboozled right at the start by the pair of Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah. It was the heroics of Sam Curran that took the team post a respectable total in excess of 100 but the Mumbai Indians started with the bat on a similar note where the Bumrah-Boult pair had left. While the swing and seam of Boult were exulting for the men in blue, the Dhoni’s men were having a nightmare and whatever little hope they were living in of making into the playoffs were uprooted by Boult in a jiffy. Experts were having a field day and all were disappointed with the fall of the CSK team which had made a reputation of being the most consistent side in the history of the IPL. Here we have compiled a list of experts’ take on the game along with the views of both captains. Captains’ views The ongoing season has been a tough one for both MS Dhoni and the CSK team and he did not hide his feelings after a demolishing loss against the Mumbai Indians. He admitted that it hurts to see the side into such a pathetic position in a league that the team once used to dominate. He pointed out many aspects of the side that resulted in the season going so bad for the side from the second game they played in the IPL 2020. He said that teams which are going through rough phases need a bit of luck to turn things around which the CSK never got. “It does hurt. What you need to see is what are the things that are going wrong. Especially this year, it hasn't been our year. Whether you lose by 8 or 10 wickets, it hardly matters, but where we are at this stage of the tournament, it does hurt. What you need to see is where we actually went wrong, right from the second game. It was more about bowling. Rayudu got injured, the other batsmen were maybe not there 200% and in cricket when you're going through a tough phase, you need a bit of luck. The games we wanted to bat first, we haven't won the toss, and there's no dew and all of a sudden when we bat first there's dew, “ MS Dhoni said to the host broadcaster Star in the post-match interaction. Asked on the way forward for the team and how he has managed to hold up the squad, he said that the team has tried to perform but they could not bring out their best this year to produce the desired results and the team members have taken the failures on the chin and have moved on with a smile. “Whenever you're not doing well, there can be a 100 reasons, but one of the main things you ask yourself is whether you've got to the potential you've got no matter the conditions. When you put a good team on paper, have we done enough to back up the stats? And this year we haven't. Cumulatively there have been batting failures. It's part and parcel, you can't always think the result will go your way. You try to do the toughest thing, even when you're hurting, you try to smile and take it on the chin. I feel the boys have done that, they've tried to perform,” Dhoni added He also suggested that the team will see some radical selections in the three remaining matches of the season with a focus to give youngsters sitting on the bench more chances to analyse their game and draw a roadmap for the next season and he pointed out the essentiality of having a clear picture of where the team stands in terms of squid for the next season. “I think it's important for us to have a clear picture of next year. There are lots of ifs and buts - auction, where the venues will be. The coming three games will be an ideal opportunity to give platforms. See some of the youngsters in preparation for the next year. A few more who are on the bench will get games in the coming three games,” Dhoni added in his post-match remarks to Star. On the other side of the coin, Kieron Pollard relished the opportunity to lead the side in Rohit Sharma’s absence and said that one does not have to be a leader to lead a side. He showcased the approach he had taken after dismissing CSK’s top order very early in the innings. He said that an early spell of two wickets does the job well but the efforts to take out five wickets in the first six overs was a fantastic effort and that the CSK could well have been dismissed under 100 if Sam Curran did not stand up. “It's part and parcel of it, sometimes you don't actually have to be a leader, I know a thing or two. So it was just a matter of me stepping in and it came off tonight. It was just a matter of making right decisions, not giving them freebies. We wanted to bowl them out under 100 but Sam batted well. I think it was a total team effort. Two-three wickets early puts you in the game and to get 4-5 is fantastic. And then the openers going out and finishing off and not leaving any uncertainty was good. We want to finish top two and it's a matter of getting the points and then thinking about the opponents,” Pollard said in the post-match presentation. Experts’ take Cricket commentator and one of the finest readers of the game, Harsha Bhogle compared the Chennai Super Kings to an ageing boxer who is not agile enough to take on young boxers who are attempting to attack with multiple fronts and with very high intensity. He also shared the agonies CSK’s fans might be going through simply because of the level of admiration people have for the team. Veteran cricket journalist reminded Twitter about the comments made by MS Dhoni on the level of performances and promises shown by youngsters in the CSK camp. He also said that the CSK looked like a side which wants to finish the campaign early and go back home. Former Indian opener and now a cricket analyst, Aakash Chopra called the CSK’s defeat at the hands of the Mumbai Indians a pure annihilation and said that the journey of men in yellow in the season of the IPL is all but over even if they manage to win the next three games, which he is very doubtful about. Powered by Froala Editor

IPL 2020 | KXIP vs SRH: Match Preview, Predicted XI & Dream11 Fantasy Picks

The second clash of the Saturday, October 24 will be between two resurgent teams who have been eyeing elusive spots in the top four on the points table in the Indian Premier League. While the Kings XI Punjab have been on the patch to recovery after beating the top two teams of the season in Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals in consecutive games, the Sunrisers have been showing signs of peaking in performances with batsmen taking the control of the game even without match-winning contributions by David Warner and Jonny Bairstow. KL Rahul has been on song with the bat right throughout the season and Mayank Agarwal has not looked any weaker at the other end. The inclusion of Chris Gayle has solidified the outlook of the middle order and with Nicholas Pooran coming off in the middle order augurs well for the team going into the phase of the tournament where every win and loss will matter dearly to the team which always has carried the tag of ‘underachiever’ in the history of IPL and KL Rahul will be reminding his players about the challenges they are facing and may come up against going deeper towards the knockouts stage. The team will have to take one game at a time and put on performances like their lives are dependent on a particular game if they have to stake claim to one spot in top four on the points table. The bowling department looks promising as ever with Mohammed Shami being successful in maintaining the rhythm he was in at the start of the innings. He has shown signs of coming off age and on the day when KL Rahul had handed over the task to defend a score that deemed to be undefendable, Shami outshone Jasprit Bumrah to snatch the match away from the Mumbai Indians. On the other hand, David Warner’s Sunrisers Hyderabad showed signs of stabilising after finding out a few combinations that have yielded results for the team. The inclusion of Vijay Shankar in the last game proved to be crucial as the all-rounder showed exemplary calmness under pressure after the early loss of both Warner and Bairstow. Manish Pandey turned back the clock in the IPL and showed the capability he was once showing in KKR Colours to take the game away from the Rajasthan Royals in the last over. Warner was ecstatic at the splendid match-winning partnership by Vijay Shankar and Manish Pandey in the last game and it showed how much he had missed solidity and valuable contributions from batsmen batting below him and Bairstow. Both the sides have been blamed for losing games that they were supposed to win and from situations when all looked comfortable. Both these sides were part of the two games of last Sunday that went down to the super over when they looked all set to seize the game. The sides have not been able to unlock their potentials but the Kings XI Punjab are looking like men on a mission after outshine the Mumbai and Delhi sides in the back-to-back games. Apart from playing super overs on the last Sunday, both the sides secured their last wins on the back of impressive bowling and dominant performances from the batsmen in the middle order. Nicholas Pooran did the job brilliantly for the Kings XI while Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar scripted a near annihilation of the Royals after Jason Holder’s discipline proved too costly for the Royals to contain while batting. Kings XI Punjab vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Match details Match Number- 43 Date: 24th October 2020, at 7:30 PM IST, 06:00 PM Local, 2.00 PM GMT Venue: Dubai Broadcast: Star Sports and Hotstar Pitch and weather A new pitch will be used in the match between the Kings XI Punjab and the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the top order of either team studded with stroke players will love the prospects of balls coming on nicely on the bat. The pitches in Dubai have been two-paced and the new pitch will help the batsmen time the ball better at least against the new ball. Team news Kings XI Punjab KL Rahul’s side finally achieved the target of finding an eleven that gave the team a much-sought balance after a long struggle and it is highly unlikely that he will want to change it against the Sunrisers. However, the inclusion of James Neesham in the last match in place of Chris Jordan who had bowled brilliantly in the second super over in the match preceding the last game against the Mumbai Indians but Neesham did not do any harm to his reputation as he scalped Prithvi Shaw in his first spell in the last game. Expected XI KL Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, James Neesham/Chris Jordan, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh Sunrisers Hyderabad Like the Kings XI, the Sunrisers too tasted success after a long time and trying far too many options and are likely to continue with the same XI in the game against Punjab. Jason Holder’s addition proved to be a masterstroke and captain Warner called him an all-round package after the end of the game The Sunrisers will rely on him once agains to strike early in the innings as the Punjab’s top order has been in a top-notch form. Expected XI David Warner (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Priyam Garg, Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Abdul Samad, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan Kings XI Punjab vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Dream 11 team and suggestion Nicholas Pooran, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Manish Pandey, Chris Gayle, Vijay Shankar, Jason Holder, Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Rashid Khan Captain: KL Rahul Vice-captain: Manish Pandey