The Royals look to return to winning ways with a stern test against four-time champions Chennai Super Kings.

Two difficult losses in the recent past and a mammoth challenge up ahead, it’s where we find ourselves as Rajasthan Royals prepare to take on four-time champions Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League on Thursday.

At the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, the Men in Pink will have little to no room for error as they look to hold on to their spot in the top four with the IPL 2023 race heating up. An impressive start to the season sees the Royals placed third on the points table after seven games. But with as many as four teams with eight points piling the league table, any slip-up could prove detrimental in the team’s quest to make the playoffs.

“You learn. We get better. We play again. This game (against Royal Challengers Bangalore) is a learning experience,” head coach Kumar Sangakkara said addressing the team after their loss to RCB. “It's been outstanding so far. 95 percent of the time we've been absolutely brilliant. The question is, what can we do to get that 2-3 percent better?” It’s a question that the team will look to answer against CSK in what will be their 200th IPL game.

Match details

IPL 2023: Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings - April 27, 2023

Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

7:30 PM IST

The Royals’ first match of the season at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium gave us a glimpse of what to expect from the Jaipur pitch. On a slow pitch, strokeplay was a difficult task and the batters had to dig deep for their runs. The variable bounce too made it tricky as the game progressed. Expect things to be no different when the Royals and the Super Kings battle it out.

The numbers suggest chasing has been successful at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. Since 2018, in the IPL, teams batting second have won nine of the 15 matches with 10 among them opting to field first. With an average first innings score and a winning par at around 160, don’t expect the match to be a high-scoring affair.

Battle to watch out

Shimron Hetmyer vs Ravindra Jadeja

It’s a place where he announced himself to the world. It’s a team that he helped to the inaugural IPL title. Ravindra Jadeja has a prominent place in Rajasthan Royals’ history. But on Thursday, this affinity will take a backseat when Jadeja – clad in the yellow of CSK – will line up against the Royals. And eyeing his number will be a certain Shimron Hetmyer.

Shimron Hetmyer’s best strike rate against spinners in T20s (20+ balls)

Bowler

Innings

Runs

Balls

Dismissals

Strike Rate

Ravindra Jadeja

6

52

30

2

173

Adam Zampa

4

44

29

0

152

Fawad Ahmed

9

66

45

2

147

Imad Wasim

5

49

34

0

144

Samuel Badree

2

28

20

0

140

The Caribbean hitman has a good record against Jadeja in the T20s. Though the two haven’t had enough time to engage in a lengthy duel, Hetmyer has been lethal against Jadeja and has scored at a strike rate of 173 in the limited opportunities that’s come his way. Meanwhile, Jadeja has dismissed the Guyana-born twice in the six meetings. With both the players firing on all cylinders, the Hetmyer vs Jadeja will be the one to watch out for in what will be Jadeja's 300th T20 match.

Key player

Yuzvendra Chahal

The joint third-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2023, Yuzvendra Chahal has begun from where he left off for the Royals last season. With his spin and guile troubling the batters, the 22-yard strip at the Sawai Mansingh should suit him against CSK. In the early fixture, Chahal proved influential, taking two wickets and giving away just 27 runs at an economy of 6.8 in Chennai.

Chahal has been the most effective in the middle overs (7-15 overs) with captain Sanju Samson turning to the spinner for not only his wicket-taking abilities but also to stem the flow of runs very often. The 32-year-old brings in his experience at the death as well and has aided his team’s cause time and again. Against a high-flying CSK, Chahal will be expected to spin a web around the batters in front of the Royals faithful.

Yuzvendra Chahal in various phases of the match in IPL 2023

Phase

Overs

Wickets

Average

Economy

Middle overs

21

7

26.0

8.9

Death overs

7

5

8.0

5.7

Team news

Coming into the match on the back of two losses, one would expect a few changes to the personnel against the Chennai Super Kings. But with the head coach insisting on patience and the need to take responsibility, it would be prudent to see the line up the team management names against CSK. Moreover, the ‘Impact Player’ rule will have to be exercised smartly to get the best of the advantage that it has proven to be this season.

Upcoming milestones

  • Rajasthan Royals will play their 200th IPL game on Thursday. We will become the seventh team in the league to play 200+ matches.
  • Jos Buttler is one catch away from 50 catches in the IPL.
  • R Ashwin is four wickets away from 300 wickets in T20s.
  • Jos Buttler is 26 runs away from 500 runs at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in T20s.