CSK bowl, de Villiers returns, Willey to make IPL debut

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Chennai Super Kings chose to bowl v Royal Challengers Bangalore

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Who's the more difficult batsman to bowl to? Who's better in chases? Sanjay Manjrekar and Shaun Tait discuss all that and more

One team needed extra bowling resources, the other its talisman, and both shortcomings were addressed to give a marquee clash additional sheen. AB de Villiers recovered from viral fever to regain his spot in the Royal Challengers Bangalore XI while Chennai Super Kings handed out a debut to David Willey, the left-arm fast bowling allrounder from England. With his inclusion, MS Dhoni has seven specialist bowling options.

Both captains said they wanted to chase even though the pitch started out dry and is likely to get drier as the sun beats down. Some green grass was left on it to perhaps slow down the deterioration. In any case, that suggests they are more than confident the batsmen in their line-ups can cope in case conditions become difficult, but not the bowlers. And there are stats to back that kind of thinking. CSK and RCB have given away the most runs in the death overs this season.

Willey's addition could help in that regard. He is a specialist T20 player for England, having recently opted out of a first-class contract with Yorkshire, and is noted for his ability to swing the new ball. He also has incredible hitting ability and has a highest score of 118. The IPL audience may want to get used to him. Faf du Plessis was forced to the bench.

By contrast, a player that's been around for a while - Parthiv Patel - will also be in action, playing his first game for RCB this season with Quinton de Kock having left for home to attend a wedding.

Batsman Dhruv Shorey found a place in the CSK XI as well at the expense of legspinner Karn Sharma

Chennai Super Kings: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Ambati Rayudu, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Dhruv Shorey, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 David Willey, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Shardul Thakur

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Parthiv Patel (wk), 2 Brendon McCullum 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Mandeep Singh, 6 Colin de Grandhomme, 7 M Ashwin, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Mohammed Siraj

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AB de Villiers to return as RCB aim to stay afloat

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CSK: lost to KKR by six wickets, beat Daredevils by 13 runs, lost to Mumbai by 8 wickets

RCB: beat Mumbai by 14 runs, lost to KKR by six wickets, lost to KKR by five wickets

Big Picture

Royal Challengers Bangalore could probably afford one more loss. But only if they get very lucky with other results going their way.

They came away from the IPL auction like a tourist with a detailed itinerary: allrounders, check; big-hitters, check; KKR's bowling attack that knocked them over for 49, double check. But one month in, all they have is a bag full of knock-off merchandise. Five defeats in eight matches with a squad that Virat Kohli thought was the most balanced is, essentially, like being stuck with t-shirts that say Wrong instead of Wrogn, right?

But some innocent bystanders have given them a helpful tip, at least with respect to their next adventure. It is hard to compete with Chennai Super Kings' batting line-up. So make fools of their bowlers.

Target scores well above par if batting first. Forget about the run-rate and safeguard wickets for the death if chasing. Basically, RCB have to figure out a way to beat a monstrous batting team with virtually the tournament on the line.

It seems karma wants them to learn how everyone that faces RCB feels.

In the news

AB de Villiers has been declared fit after viral fever ruled him out of RCB's previous two games. Quinton de Kock, however, has flown back to South Africa for a wedding.

Previous meeting

A high-scoring affair when RCB posted 205 and CSK chased it down in a blaze of sixes in Bengaluru. De Villiers made a match-winning 68.

Likely XIs

Chennai Super Kings: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Ambati Rayudu, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Harbhajan Singh, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Imran Tahir, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 KM Asif

De Kock's absence may see Parthiv Patel getting his first game of the season.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Manan Vohra/Parthiv Patel (wk), 2 Brendon McCullum 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Mandeep Singh, 6 Colin de Grandhomme, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Mohammed Siraj

Strategy punt

Imran Tahir has taken 15 wickets in Pune, the most among anyone in the CSK squad, and he has taken out AB de Villiers two times in three IPL innings. This head-to-head can be quite compelling for the viewer as well because the batsman also strikes at 185.7 against the legspinner.

Stats that matter

• RCB have four wins in five games in Pune, and de Villiers was Man of the Match in three of those games. He has made 211 runs at a strike-rate of 177. Viral fever, begone.

• CSK have rarely had a phenomenal bowling line-up. But they mask that problem with their spinners and Dhoni's ability to use them. In each of their eight years, their economy rate had always hovered around 7 and strike rate around 25. In 2018, those numbers have risen to 8.49 and 34.50.

• Before Tim Southee was brought in to the XI, RCB were conceding a six every six deliveries in the death. Now, that figure is a far more respectable 18.3.

• Dhoni has scored 329 runs at a strike-rate of 169.6. That's his best tally after nine matches in any season of IPL.

Fantasy pick

Ambati Rayudu. He's the highest scorer of the IPL this season with six scores of 30-plus in nine innings. He's also been hitting at a strike-rate of 153 with 56 hits to and over the boundary.

Quotes

"The last four days have been a blur I have been suffering from severe viral flu, one of the most debilitating illnesses I have ever experienced. Aside from one visit to the hospital, I have barely left my hotel room. Sleep has been almost impossible, and the migraine headaches have been extreme."
AB de Villiers wrote in a column for Times of India

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