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IPL 2023, CSK vs RR: Rajasthan's Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler face Chepauk test against challenging Chennai

IPL 2023: On Wednesday, Chennai Super Kings will host the unstoppable Rajasthan Royals. It would be a litmus test for the visiting Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler at the Chepauk.

IPL 2023, CSK vs RR preview: Rajasthan Royals Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler face Chepauk test against challenging Chennai Super Kings, where to watch stream-ayh
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First Published Apr 11, 2023, 6:01 PM IST

The in-form dynamic opening Rajasthan Royals (RR) pair of Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal will face a quality 'Spin Test' on a tricky Chepauk pitch when it locks horns with some world-class short-format tweakers in the former four-time champion Chennai Super Kings (CSK) line-up in a 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) tie at the Ma Chidambaram (Chepauk) Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday.

The England white-ball skipper and his young Indian partner have scored a couple of half-centuries each, and that too at healthy strike rates -- 180.95 for Buttler and 164.47 for Jaiswal. But, in the three games the Royals have played so far, two were in Guwahati, the flattest batting deck amongst all the venues. The Hyderabad track was also loaded heavily in favour of batters.

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And suddenly, they come to Chennai, where the ball can grip and get slower as the match progresses. The toss is always essential in Chennai, as chasing anything above 170 to 175 could be risky. Mainly when Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja and Mitchell Santner are operating at the Chepauk and might bowl ten, if not 12, overs between them. Matches can be won and lost there.

The three seasoned CSK campaigners have taken 11 wickets between them in three games, but, more importantly, their economy rate has been awe-inspiring. Moeen has bowled at an economy rate of 6.50 in two games, while Jadeja (6.88) and Santner (6.75) have also gone for less than seven runs per over.

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Moeen missed the last game due to food poisoning and is expected to play the game in place of Sisanda Magala, while Dwaine Pretorius will fill in as an all-rounder in case Ben Stokes is not fit. But by no means Royals' spinners could be taken lightly, as the wily 'Cricket Scientist' Ravichandran Ashwin has played all his cricket at this very ground, and the intelligent Yuzvendra Chahal can outfox any batter on a given day. Add the other Tamil Nadu spinner Murugan Ashwin in the mix, and CSK will also have its own set of challenges.

However, CSK will be missing Deepak Chahar, who is expected to be out of the tournament due to the recurrence of a left hamstring injury. Whether Dhoni prefers the erratic but pacey Rajvardhan Hangargekar or the incisive Simarjeet Singh will be a big question. On the batting front, the vastly experienced Ajinkya Rahane showed he, too, could score quickly on his CSK debut as the team turned in a strong performance, with spinners Jadeja and Santner doing a fine job.

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Add the excellent run of Ruturaj Gaikwad at the top of the order, and CSK does have a formidable batting line-up. But it would be up against an equally well-endowed Royals team. It promises to be an exciting battle on the morrow, with the two sides boasting a solid batting unit, and the onus would be on the bowlers to seize the moment.

In skipper Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer, the Royals have batters who can play big shots and boost the score. The pacing unit comprising Trent Boult and Jason Holder looks better than CSK's on paper, but how the respective attacks fare on the given day could determine the game's outcome. The wicket at the MA Chidambaram stadium offered bounce in the game against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), and it remains to be seen if similar conditions are on offer. Nevertheless, an exciting battle is in store.

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Squads:
CSK:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c & wk), Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane, Sisanda Magala, Shivam Dube, Dwaine Pretorius, Ahay Mandal, Nishant Sindhu, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Mitchell Santner, Subharnshu Senapati, Simarjeet Singh, Matheesa Pathirana, Mahesh Theekshana, Bhagath Verma, Prashant Solanki, Shaikh Rasheed and Tushar Deshpande.
RR: Jos Buttler (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Dhruv Jorel, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, R Ashwin, Jason Holder, Trent Boult, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, M Ashwin, KM Asif, KC Cariappa, Donovan Ferreira, Devdutt Padikkal, Obey McCoy, Joe Root, Kuldeep Sen, Akash Vashist, Kuldip Yadav, Adam Zampa and Abdul Basith.

Match details
Date and day:
April 12, 2023 (Wednesday)
Venue: Ma Chidambaram (Chepauk) Stadium, Chennai
Time: 7.30 PM (IST)
Where to watch (TV): Star Sports 1 and other Star Sports regional language channels - Also available in HD
Where to watch (Online): JioCinema

(With inputs from PTI)

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