IPL 2023 CSK vs RR Preview - Powerplay specialists set to do battle

Key match stats

Pitch Stats – MA Chidambaram Stadium

Average first innings score: 163
Average first innings winning score: 174
Average powerplay score: 47
Win % batting 1st vs batting 2nd: 59% / 38%

Team form CSK vs RR

CSK: WWL
RR: WLW

Recent meetings: IPL 2022 - RR won by 5 wickets

Preview CSK vs RR

We've been treated to some absolutely brilliant finishes in the IPL over the last few days and there is no reason to believe that these 2 high flying teams can't offer up something similar.

The most notable strength of both sides to date in IPL 2023 has been their top orders and the way they've capitalised on the powerplay to get themselves off to a fast start.

For CSK, Ruturaj Gaikwad has looked in magnificent form and currently sits on 189 runs for the season at a strike rate of 162. His batting in the powerplay is only matched by Rajasthan's star player, Jos Buttler and you'd imagine that the winner of this particular head to head will go a long way to determining the outcome of this match.

Gaikwad vs Buttler powerplay stats IPL 2023

Of course it's not just been about those 2 players. Buttler has benefitted from the excellent form of Yashasvi Jaiswal whose stroke play in the last match got the Royals off to a flier - no matter where Khaleel Ahmed bowled, Jaiswal found the perfect shot, striking 5 boundaries off the first over alone.

Similarly in their last match, Gaikwad found support in the form of Ajinke Rahane who was perhaps the unlikely holder of the title of fastest 50 in IPL 2023, at least for a couple of days before Nicolas Pooran's assault in Bangalore. Rahane was only playing due to the illness of others within the CSK squad and probably due to his excellent record at the Wankhede. Will he keep his place against the side that he used to skipper?

It'll be interesting to see what kind of pitch we get at the Chepauk Stadium for this match. The first game played here between Chennai and Lucknow saw both sides go hell for leather while the seamers were on and the field restrictions were in place before the spinners put the breaks on throughout the middle overs. Given the strength of both top orders and the approach we've seen to date (as noted above) I'd imagine that will be very much the same pattern in this game.

Equally, the spin options on both sides are such that if the wicket does begin to wear then having runs on the board will be a real bonus. The modus operani at this venue is to bat first and I would imagine that whoever wins the toss will continue that trend.

CSK's score of 217 was enough for victory in the first game played here but only just so while the MA Chidambaram Stadium may have a historical average winning score of 174, it seems likely that whoever does bat first will need a good 15 to 20 runs more than that.

Sri Lankan pair Maheesh Theekshana And Matheesha Pathirana arrived in India earlier in the week and will be available for selection in this game only adding to the strength of the Chennai squad.

CSK vs RR head to head

RR bowling vs CSK batting

Rajasthan would dearly love for Trent Boult to continue his habit of dismissing Gaikwad early in the innings. The Kiwi has dismissed CSK's star man 3 times in the IPL before, all in the opening over of the innings!

Boult all dismissals vs Gaikwad in the IPL

I know that opening batsmen have their superstitions about whether they face the first ball or not but in this circumstance, I would suggest that the easiest way for Gaikwad to go about avoiding a 4th dismissal in the first over would be to have Conway or whoever else is due to open, face Boult's first ball and potentially most of that over!

Rajasthan also have the advantage of possessing their not so secret weapon in these conditions in the form of Ravi Ashwin. Ashwin is the all-time leading wicket taker in the IPL at the MA Chidambaram Stadium having played a pivotal role in Chennai's success here over the years.

Ravi Aswin IPL bowling record at the MA Chidambaram Stadium

I raised the question above as to whether CSK would persist with the selection of Ajinkya Rahane for this game following his heroics in Mumbai. At the Wankhede, he has a very decent record (Average 38.1, Strike Rate 137) but at the MA Chidambaram Stadium those numbers fall dramatically (Average 11.6, Strike Rate 112) while his overall T20 head to head record against Chahal and Ashwin is also very poor.

Ashwin and Chahal combined T20 head to head vs Rahane

It'll be a tough decision to drop Rahane but my guess is that CSK will be desperate to get the likes of Moeen Ali back into their side to counter that spin threat from the Royals. Alternatively, the Super Kings could open with Rahane and drop Conway, freeing up an overseas spot that could be given to one of their returning Sri Lankans.

CSK bowling vs RR batting

The temptation to bring Theekshana straight into the CSK side must be even greater considering his ability to at least limit Jos Buttler's fast scoring and his the possibility that he could do that during the powerplay if needed.

Theekshana vs Buttler T20 head to head

One of the strengths of this CSK side is the number of finger spin options they have, allowing them to utilise Theekshana in the powerplay without weakening their attack during what will be a crucial middle over phase.

Unfortunately for the Royals, their batsmen don't come to Chennai with much previous success to draw upon as their collective IPL records at the MA Chidambaram show (Jaiswal and Parag have never played IPL cricket here before).

Batsman	Average in Chepauk	Strike Rate in Chepauk
Buttler	6.0	85.7
Hetmyer	7.5	115.4
Samson	17.0	125.9
Padikkal	18.0	87.8

IPL batting stats at the MA Chidambaram Stadium

The Royals dropped Devdutt Padikkal following a string of low scores but they may be tempted to bring him back in to combat the threat of Chennai's left-arm spinners. So far, both Jadeja and Santner have played in all 3 of CSK's games in IPL 2023.

Riyan Parag T20 batting record vs spin

Riyan Parag was promoted up the order for the win against the Capitals but he's generally struggled to score against slow bowling and that will be a crucial factor in this game, only further adding to the possibility that RR may return for Padikkal (strike rate 124 vs spin) or an alternative within the middle order who can take on the slower bowlers.

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All stats used in this blog are from my own databases which are freely accessible below
IPL head to head player stats
IPL player stats by venue
IPL stadium statistics.
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