New Delhi: The contest between laggards Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals holds no significance in the context of the play-offs, but both teams will aim to accelerate their rebuilding process with the MS Dhoni-led side looking to transform itself from a ‘dad’s army’ into a young brigade.
Tuesday’s match is last of the 2025 edition for the Royals, who have nothing to savour except finding exceptional talent in Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who forced the cricket world to take note of his unexpected coruscating show.
The bad bowling picks at the auction has hurt the Jaipur-based side the most apart from a non-impressive show by the middle order.
If they are at number nine in the table out of 10 teams, mostly it has been because of a mediocre show by their bowlers and over dependence on top order batters.
Letting go of Jos Buttler from the squad and not-so-impressive show from Jofra Archer left the Royals with plenty to contend with. The absence of a premier Indian bowler who could put the opposition under the pump has been their biggest bane.
If Mumbai Indians were able to revive their fortunes, it was because they had Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult. If Gujarat Titans are a force to reckon with, it is because Mohammad Siraj and Prasidh Krishna have done their job, sharing over 30 wickets between them — even on punishing flat Indian tracks.
Royals never had that cushion or luxury. They did cherish a few fiery starts, like the one on Sunday against Punjab Kings when they scored 70-plus runs in the first five overs, but still found a way to lose the contest. This has been their story this season.
They can only play for pride and end on a high, avoid the wooden spoon by winning Tuesday match against a side that has already gone into transformation process.
The formula of packing the side with and relying on tried-and-tested players has proven outdated, severely hampering Chennai Super King’s performance this season.
CSK have expected too much from Rahul Tripathy and Deepak Hooda. Their India experience might have earned them contracts with the franchise but they could never be the consistent match winners in pressure situations.
The rebuilding process has started with the infusion of young blood like Ayush Mhatre, Shaik Rasheed, and Urvil Patel. The 20-year-old Mhatre came close to hitting a century against RCB and also did well against SRH and MI.
Patel is a late entry but he showed his potential with his cameo against KKR. What they have done so far is a trailer for the next edition.
Losing skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad added to the woes of the side. Many hoped that with Dhoni coming back as skipper would change the fortunes of the side but even he could do little with such limited resources.
Much was expected from foreign recruits like Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra but nothing worked for the CSK.
In the past Shane Watson and Dwayne Bravo did wonders for the side but this season none played like them.
At the mini auction CSK will have to sort out their batting combination.
Squads:
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (c, wk), Shaik Rasheed, Ayush Mhatre, Deepak Hooda, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana, Anshul Kamboj, R Ashwin, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Jamie Overton, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tripathi, Shreyas Gopal, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, C Andre Siddarth, Vansh Bedi.
Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c, wk), Ashok Sharma, Nandre Burger, Tushar Deshpande, Shubham Dubey, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Kumar Kartikeya, Akash Madhwal, Kwena Maphaka, Riyan Parag, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Kunal Singh Rathore, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Maheesh Theekshana, Yudhvir Singh.
The match starts at 7.30 PM.
