Find out team news, TV and streaming information, odds, head-to-head record, weather forecast and much, much more ahead of the 19th game of the new Indian Premier League season
Chennai Super Kings take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 19th match of the 2021 IPL.
The game is scheduled for 3.30pm IST (11am BST) on Sunday, April 25, 2021.
Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium is hosting its final game of the competition.
This is a battle of the top two, which might come as some surprise, given reccent form in the competition over the last few years.
Chennai Super Kings endured a horror show campaign in 2020 but appear to have regrouped and benefited from the return of Suresh Raina and the signing of Moeen Ali, who has enjoyed his free-hitting role at No.3.
MS Dhoni is yet to fire, however, though the fact that his side has been winning without his impact can only be taken as a positive.
For Royal Challengers Bangalore, Glenn Maxwell - ranked fifth in the T20 Player Index, Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal are all among the leading run-scorers. Padikkal missed the start of the competition but was imperious in smashing a hundred in his most recent outing against Rajasthan Royals.
Dafabet have the task of picking a favourite for this one and have opted - with some confidence - for RCB at 7/10. Chennai Super Kings can be backed at 11/10.
Faf du Plessis, who is his side's leading run-getter in the 2021 season, is available at 5/2 to be CSK's top run-scorer. Virat Kohli, perhaps unsurprisingly, is 9/4 to do the same for RCB.
Bangalore, on the back of Padikkal's brilliance last time out, are favourites to start quicker. They are available at 3/4 to have a higher powerplay score, with CSK available at 6/5.
The four leading wicket-takers in this year's Indian Premier League are all local players so far, and two of them will be on show in this clash.
Harshal Patel claimed five of his 12 against Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener, and he sits at the top as a result.
CSK's Deepak Chahar had a similarly excellent day at the office last time out against Kolkata Knight Riders - one of two games this season in which he has claimed four wickets.
With the bat, it is difficult to look beyond the typical contenders, with Kohli, Dhoni, du Plessis and AB de Villiers all in action. Padikkal's century, though, sees him as a marked man.
Neither side will see much reason to make wholesale changes, but Sam Curran was expensive in Chennai Super Kings' win over Kolkata Knight Riders, with Pat Cummins plundering 30 runs in a single over.
For RCB, their side thus far has picked itself, though Australian left-armer Daniel Sams has been tipped in some quarters to replace compatriot Dan Christian.
The two teams have played each other 26 times.
Chennai Super Kings wins: 16
Royal Challengers Bangalore wins: 9
With little chance of rain in Mumbai and temperatures expected to hover around 34 degrees Celsius, another full and uninterrupted game is expected.
No, this match will be played behind closed doors owing to the Covid-19 situation in India.
Chennai Super Kings have a vastly superior record, but Royal Challengers Bangalore have been excellent this year. Could this season finally be theirs?
IPL TEAM GUIDES
Sky Sports have the rights in the United Kingdom.
You can aso stream the tournament using the Disney+ Hotstar digital platform, though the matches are only available for VIP or Premium subscribers.
Star Sports have the television rights in India.
Streaming service YuppTV have acquired digital streaming rights in a host of markets, including Australia, continental Europe, Malaysia, Southeast Asia with the exception of Singapore, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, Central Asia, and Central and South America.
In the USA, the games will be broadcast on Willow TV and the Willow TV website. Fox Sports have the broadcasting rights in Australia, while Supersport will televise the games in South Africa. In the Caribbean, Flow TV have the rights.
The following broadcasters owning the rights for their respective regions:
Bangladesh: Channel 9
Afghanistan: Lemar TV
Malaysia: Measat
MENA/UAE: BeIN Sport
Hong Kong: Now TV
Singapore: SingTel
New Zealand: Sky Sport
Papua New Guinea: EMTV
Chennai Super Kings: Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Narayan Jagadeesabn, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KM Asif, Karn Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chahar, Faf du Plessis, Shardul Thakur, Mitchell Santner, Dwayne Bravo, Lungi Ngidi, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Imran Tahir, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, K Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, M.Harisankar Reddy, K.Bhagath Varma, C Hari Nishaanth, R Sai Kishore, Jason Behrendorff
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Yuzvendra Chahal, Devdutt Padikkal, Harshal Patel, Daniel Sams, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Adam Zampa, Shahbaz Ahmed, Kane Richardson, Pavan Deshpande, Glenn Maxwell, Sachin Baby, Rajat Patidar, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Kyle Jamieson, Dan Christian, Suyesh Prabhudessai, K.S. Bharat, Finn Allen
CSK: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (c, wk), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar
RCB: Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Mohammad Azharuddeen/Shahbaz Ahmed, AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell, Dan Christian, Washington Sundar, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Siraj
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