IPL 2023, RR vs CSK: MS Dhoni's men looking to avenge Rajasthan's narrow escape in 1st match

Rajasthan Royals may have narrowly beaten the Chennai Super Kings in the initial stages of IPL 2023 but it will be a lot tougher to do that in the reverse fixture on Thursday.

This time, the odds are with CSK, who now sit at the top of the table with 5 wins from 7 games.

Despite it being a home game for the Royals, MS Dhoni's men go into the clash as favourites.

Rajasthan failed to chase down 155 in their only game in Jaipur this season. If the wicket continues to be slow and skiddy, it might favour CSK.

Moreover, Rajasthan is coming off 2 consecutive losses, while CSK is on a 3-match winning run.

Ajinkya Rahane's form has been a blessing for the Yellow Army, who is striking at almost 200.

However, the Royals can not be taken lightly as a win here would help them leapfrog CSK at the top, courtesy of a higher net run rate.

TEAM NEWS

Ben Stokes and Deepak Chahar have still not recovered from their injuries and CSK is likely to go into the clash with an unchanged playing XI.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

CSK has won 15 out of the 28 games played between these two sides. However, it's the Royals who hold an upper hand in recent encounters, having won 4 of the last 5 games vs CSK.

WEATHER

Rain might affect the encounter as the met department has predicted light showers in Jaipur on Friday. In fact, there is a 44% chance of rain.

RR vs CSK Probable Playing XI

RR Likely playing XI

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (c&wk), Shimon Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Jason Holder, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sandeep Sharma, Abdul Basith.

CSK Likely Playing XI

Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (c&wk), Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Singh, and Maheesh Theekshana