RR's sole win came against laggards Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium and they would be banking on home comfort to upset defending champions CSK
Rajasthan Royals' skipper Ajinkya Rahane is flanked by Shreyas Gopal (left) and Steve Smith during their eight-wicket defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders recently. Pic/AFP
A struggling Rajasthan Royals will desperately seek to revive their campaign when they host formidable Chennai Super Kings in an IPL encounter here today. RR are currently in the penultimate spot in the eight-team standings with just one win out of five games. RR's sole win came against laggards Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium and they would be banking on home comfort to upset defending champions CSK.
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Table-toppers CSK
In contrast, CSK are coming off a clinical seven-wicket thrashing of Kolkata Knight Riders and are on top of the table with five wins from six games. Under super skipper MS Dhoni, CSK boasts of a perfectly balanced squad to excel on any surface.
The Royals, on the other hand, are still struggling to find their bearings. After losing their last match, they find themselves in a precarious position, and have to win almost all their remaining games to keep their play-off chances alive.
RR have failed to seize opportunities in their earlier matches and were totally outplayed on home turf in the last outing against KKR. Sanju Samson, who had cracked the first ton of this IPL, is still recovering from an injury and after a bright start to the season, Jos Butler too has failed in the last couple of innings. A big positive for RR will be the return to form of former Australian captain Steve Smith. Smith scored 38 against RCB before anchoring his team to 139 with an unbeaten 73 against KKR.
Skipper Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Tripathi and Ben Stokes too have been below par with the bat. To add to their woes, Rajasthan don't have the depth and bench strength too.
RR's bowling worries
RR's bowling too appears to be lacking in ideas and Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jaidev Unadkat and Dhawal Kulkarni will have to pull up their socks against an in-form CSK. An unbeaten 75 by Dhoni saw CSK beat RR earlier in the season.
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