Rajasthan Royals take on Chennai Super Kings in the second of the two matches on Saturday, with their playoff qualification hopes hanging by a thread. CSK, who are sitting pretty at the top of the IPL 2021 points table, have already qualified for the playoffs but still have a lot to play for. CSK would want to finish top of the charts but Delhi Capitals are hot on their heels and trail by just 2 points. RR, on the other hand, are currently seventh in the table and have it all to do to make it the playoffs.
Rajasthan Royals are currently on 8 points and with three matches remaining for them, can get a maximum of 14 points. Punjab Kings (6th), Mumbai Indians (5th), Kolkata Knight Riders (4th) and Royal Challengers Bangalore are all above RR in the table and also have a better net run-rate.
This leaves RR with a mountain to climb. A loss to CSK won’t spell their end, but it will mean that they need other results going in their favour to have any chance of qualifying.
The Achilles heel for RR, at least in the UAE leg, has been their misfiring batters. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson have made consistent contributions but the middle and lower-middle order have failed miserably, which has cost the team dear time and again.
CSK have no such problem. MS Dhoni’s team has been flying high with some superlative performances from numerous players. The batting has been led by the dynamic opening duo of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis.Listen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com
Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali and Ambati Rayudu have chipped in with cameos while Dhoni announced himself with the match-winning six against SunRisers Hyderabad on Thursday.
The bowling has been brilliant as well. Dwayne Bravo has been exceptional as well while the likes of Shardul Thakur, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar have all provided timely breakthroughs.