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An engrossing encounter in prospect

IPL / Super Kings has been consistent; Royals is a strategically proficient team

Kimberley: A mouth-watering clash between a consistent batting side and a strategically proficient team awaits when table topper Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals face off in the Indian Premier League (IPL) here on Saturday.

There is little to separate the two if the performances in the last couple of matches are to go by, although Chennai seemed to be much more consistent in batting and bowling but sloppy in fielding.

Chennai will be aiming to notch up its fifth win on the trot, while Royals would be plotting revenge after losing to the same opponent by 38 runs at the Centurion on April 30 and also record its fourth successive victory.

Besides having the same points (11), the two teams have the same number of wins (five), losses (three) and no results (one), the only difference being the net run rate — +1.281 for Chennai as against -0.050 for Rajasthan — a fact which indicates Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side has done better in batting.

In fact, Chennai has been the most consistent side with its scores in all the matches so far crossing 150, while Rajasthan has struggled to touch the 150-mark though it notched up the IPL second season’s highest score of 211.

Huge blow

Rajasthan was also dealt a huge blow by the injury of all-rounder Shane Watson, who has been ruled out of IPL after suffering a mild groin injury during Australia’s one-off Twenty20 International against Pakistan in Dubai.

Watson, the IPL 2008 Player of Tournament, would have helped the inconsistent Rajasthan middle order besides also strengthening the pace bowling stocks after youngster Kamran Khan was reported for suspect bowling action.

Chennai’s batting has been firing all along with retired Matthew Hayden leading the charge and Suresh Raina and Dhoni himself in fine touch. In fact, Chennai has the two current highest scorers in Hayden (378 runs) and Raina (296).

In fine touch

In the bowling department, L. Balaji has been in fine touch with 11 wickets from seven matches and his accuracy in the death overs has been Chennai’s asset.

Veteran Muttiah Muralitharan (seven wickets from seven matches) and little known Shadab Jakati (nine wickets from four matches) have been doing wonders for Chennai.

One area of concern for Chennai has been the fielding. Dhoni was understandably angry with the shoddy fielding of his side against Kings XI Punjab as his players dropped easy catches of key opposition players.

Dhoni and the Chennai team management will have to address the sloppiness of their fielders if they want to put pressure on strokemakers like Graeme Smith, Naman Ojha, Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja of Rajasthan.

Rajasthan batting, however, can fire anytime with Smith shaping up to his best form after his 77 against Kings XI Punjab in Durban and the explosive Yusuf having the capability to change a game single-handedly.

In bowling, Rajasthan will be facing the prospect of leaving out Amit Singh who was reported for suspect action, while Munaf Patel will have to do more than his seven wickets from seven matches. — PTI

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