What

The Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad will come up against each other for the fourth time this season. But unlike any of their previous meetings, there’s a lot at stake in this particular match. It is the Grand Finale. CSK and SRH are the last two teams standing in the competition, and they will vie to be crowned the VIVO IPL 2018 champions.

Sunrisers and the Super Kings finished the league stage as the top two teams. CSK progressed directly to the Final after they defeated SRH in the first of the playoff matches, while SRH had to defeat the Kolkata Knight Riders in Qualifier 2 on Friday night to make it to the title clash.

The Super Kings have had a four-day break since their jailbreak wins in Qualifier 1. After restricting SRH to 139-7, CSK were in deep trouble at 92-7. But Faf du Plessis used up all his experience, sucked up all the pressure, and delivered a match-winning inning much to the delight of his teammates. CSK won that contest by 2 wickets with 5 balls to spare.

If the Sunrisers are in the final, they have to thank Rashid Khan for it; the all-rounder from Afghanistan had the perfect match against KKR in Qualifier 2 �making crucial contributions with the bat, ball and in the field.

In brief, CSK v SRH is the best batting side this season pitted against the best bowling side.CSK have the most players with season aggregates of 400 or more runs – 4. They have the best batting average overall (35.04) and are the only team to have realised 2 hundred from their batsmen. They have hit the most sixes â€?135. Further, CSK has been the best chasing side this season; they have a 7-2 win-loss record in run-chases.

SRH is the only team to have taken more than 100 wickets. They have the best bowling average �24.21 and are the only team with an overall economy rate of under eight (7.89). SRH have the best record defending; they have a 5-3 win-loss record when defending totals.

There is no scope for mediocrity and there will be no second chance. Which of these two teams �led by two of the calmest captains ever �will be able to soak in the pressure, do the things that has brought them this far in the competition �if anything a little better, and land the knockout punch on their opponent?

The countdown has begun . . .

When

27 May 2018, 1900Hrs (IST)

Where

Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Impact Batsmen

The secret to CSK’s success this season is that they’ve had different players contributing match-winning performances; six different CSK batsmen have been recognised as playing match-winning knocks and have been rewarded with the Player of the Match award. The ones most likely to inflict the maximum damage with the bat are Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu. Both Watson and Rayudu, who have season aggregates of 438 and 586 runs respectively, have had two poor outings now and are due for a big score.

Suresh Raina has threatened time and again, and contributed important runs, but he has not been able to stamp his authority in the Raina-way. And then there is MS Dhoni. The CSK captain has had a fabulous season with the bat. He loves the big occasion too.

For the most part of the season, Sunrisers have been a two-man batting unit, with captain Kane Williamson and Shikhar Dhawan contributing the bulk of the runs. Williamson, the Orange Cap holder, has batted beautifully; it isn’t about the quantity of the runs alone �but the manner he has amassed them. The Kiwi batsman brings an element of purity to the crease, there’s something appealing �which one can only experience �about the unhurried manner in which he accumulates his runs.

Dhawan began the season well before suffering a blow to his elbow and hitting a trough; the left-hander is back among the runs now and will be an integral part of SRH’s batting plans.

Impact Bowlers

Conditions at the Wankhede Stadium generally have something on offer for all kinds of bowlers. CSK will expect Deepak Chahar and Lungi Ngidi to strike early �just like they did in Qualifier 1 �and allow the likes of Shardul Thakur, Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja to control the later portion of the innings.

Rashid Khan and Siddarth Kaul are SRH’s two most successful bowlers �both players have a tally of 21 wickets in 16 matches this season. Rashid’s reputation has been on the rise all the time; the leg-spinner from Afghanistan has not only prised out the opposition’s key batsman generally, but he has also provided his team breakthroughs at crucial times and has choked the batsmen at other times.

Kaul can get the new ball to dart around, but SRH have employed him as a death overs specialist. The 28-year old has impressive numbers bowling at the death; he has 10 wickets and an economy rate of 7.55. In a contest between the two best teams, which can be expected to be played right to the end, Kaul will play a crucial role bowling the last few overs.

Team Head to Head

Overall: Matches �9, Chennai Super Kings won �7, Sunrisers Hyderabad won �2

In 2018: Matches �3, Chennai Super Kings won �3, Sunrisers Hyderabad won �0.

What

Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders will come up against each other in the penultimate match of VIVO IPL 2018. Qualifier 2 is the last hurdle before one of these teams can progress to the title clash.

The Sunrisers need to arrest their four-match losing streak if they hope to make the final. Prior to their four back-to-back losses, SRH were on a roll; they had won 8 of their first ten matches, had stitched together their longest winning streak (6 matches), and became the first team to secure a playoff berth. Their form has fallen away alarmingly. In the first three losses, the bowlers came under the pump, while in the recent loss to CSK in Qualifier 1, the batting came apart altogether.

Momentum can do wonders and work like magic in T20 �if it is the right kind. To snap a losing streak is a challenge by itself; to be asked to do so in a knockout match compounds the level of pressure. Will SRH be able to cope with the pressure and pull one off?

The Kolkata Knight Riders�journey is just the opposite; they are on a four-match winning streak and have the right kind of momentum. Most recently, in the Eliminator, they defeated the Rajasthan Royals, who at one stage were comfortably placed in their run-chase. That is what momentum can do; KKR got one little opening when Ajinkya Rahane was dismissed, and they seized that opportunity and forced a win.

When

25 May 2018, 1900Hrs (IST)

Where

Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Impact Batsmen

The captains are the two team’s top run-getters this season. Kane Williamson and Dinesh Karthik have led by example for SRH and KKR respectively; Williamson’s aggregate of 685 runs equates to 28.9% of his team’s runs, while Karthik’s aggregate of 490 runs equates to 18.9% of KKR’s runs.

Sunil Narine has been a big contributor to KKR’s success too; on days he has fired at the top of the innings �which has occurred quite frequently this season �he has helped KKR gain the early momentum.

No target is beyond the reach of, and no cause is lost until the two all-rounders from the Caribbean are at the crease. Carlos Brathwaite and Andre Russell are capable of doing plenty of damage with the bat in double quick time. Both players will be high on confidence after their recent knocks; Brathwaite scored 43 off 29 balls against CSK, while Russell destroyed the Rajasthan Royals with his 25-ball 49.

Impact Bowlers

The Sunrisers need their most-experienced bowler �Bhuvneshwar Kumar �to strike a rich haul. The last time he visited Kolkata, he collected his best figures of the season �3 for 26. Rashid Khan is the one other bowler most likely to do plenty of damage with the ball; even the best batsmen have found it difficult to read the spinner from Afghanistan. The teenage leggie, who has 18 wickets this season, will be mindful of his dismal record against KKR; he finished wicket-less in both the league-stage matches against KKR.

The spin trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav will be at the heart of KKR’s bowling plans. Each one of them is attacking by nature and has bowled a match-winning spell at least once in the season; together, they’ve collected 42 wickets which account for nearly 50% of the wickets taken by KKR bowlers.

Team Head to Head

Overall: Matches �14, Sunrisers Hyderabad won �5, Kolkata Knight Riders won �9

At the Eden Gardens: Matches �6, Sunrisers Hyderabad won �1, Kolkata Knight Riders won �5

What

The Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals will come up against each other in the Eliminator �the second of the VIVO IPL 2018 Playoff matches. The two teams have to play their best cricket; there will be absolutely no room for mediocrity, for only the winner will progress in the competition and take a step closer to the Final.

KKR finished the league season in the third position; they won 8 of their 14 group-stage matches, including a run of three wins in their last three matches to charge into the playoffs. In their last league fixture of the season, they defeated table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad.

The Rajasthan Royals just managed to sneak into the top four. At one stage �after their ninth match on May 6, RR had only three wins and were placed at the bottom of the table. Then the turnaround, with Jos Buttler playing three consecutive match-winning knocks. In their last league match, the Rajasthan Royals �sans Buttler, Ben Stokes and without the services of mentor Shane Warne in the dugout �defeated favourites Royal Challengers Bangalore by 30 runs to stay alive in the race to the playoffs. The Gods smiled, other results then fell in favour, and RR made the top-four cut.

While upbeat about making the last four, both teams have problems to address. KKR have had a major issue with their pace bowling attack; their quicks have leaked runs at 10.19 runs per over �the poorest economy rate among all teams. KKR have also struggled for early breakthroughs, conceding big opening partnerships generally and have had to claw their way back into the match. The Rajasthan Royals have not travelled well; they’ve won only two of their seven away matches. Further, not one batsman outside their top three has made a half-century this season; come the big day, if a need arises, will they find someone in the middle-order to bail them out?

When

23 May 2018, 1900Hrs (IST)

Where

Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Impact Batsmen

Six KKR batsman have scored in excess of 250 runs this season. But the two biggest match-winners for the men in purple and gold are the opener Sunil Narine and captain Dinesh Karthik in the middle-order. The numbers illustrate their importance best. Generally, on occasions when Narine has consumed 10 deliveries or more, he would have put KKR in a solid position. The left-hander has batted for 10 balls or more on seven occasions this season; on six of those occasions (in which he scored a total of 247 runs at a strike-rate of 192.25) KKR went on to win.

That, Karthik, despite batting in the middle-order, is KKR’s top run-getter this season, illustrates how good he has been with the bat. Among others, Chris Lynn has batted responsibly �even if he hasn’t been able to bring ‘Lynnsanity�to the competition, while Robin Uthappa has struck the ball sweetly, except when he’s attempted the pull shot.

The Royals will look towards their Indian trio �Rahul Tripathi, Ajinkya Rahane, and Sanju Samson �to score the bulk of the runs. Right at the top is where Tripathi belongs and feels comfortable; the 27-year old will carry the confidence of a match-winning unbeaten 80 in the previous match. Tripathi will have fond memories of playing at the Eden Gardens too; it was at this venue that he scored his highest score in the IPL (93). Rahane and Samson have gone off the boil in recent times, and this big-stakes match presents a great opportunity to make a substantial contribution.

Impact Bowlers

Jofra Archer is the one pacer from both sides who is most likely to cause substantial damage with the ball. The 23-year old, Rajasthan Royals�highest wicket-taker this season, has set the speed gun on fire too; he has bowled two of the three fastest deliveries this season �clocked at 152.39kph and 150.82kph. With so much riding on this match, the Royals need Archer to end his two-match wicket-less streak and return to hitting timber once again.

One can expect plenty of trial by spin in this contest, for both teams have outstanding spinners. KKR’s Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, and Piyush Chawla have strangled many an opponent this season, as have RR’s K Gowtham and Shreyas Gopal.

Team Head to Head

Overall: Matches �17, Kolkata Knight Riders won �8, Rajasthan Royals won �9

At the Eden Gardens: Matches �6, Kolkata Knight Riders won �5, Rajasthan Royals won �1

In VIVO IPL 2018: In Jaipur �KKR won by 7 wickets, In Kolkata �KKR won by 6 wickets.

The 11th edition of the Indian Premier League started on April 7 but it wasn’t until the final day of the league stages that we got the full lineup for the play-offs.

The league stages went right down to the wire post which Sunrisers Hyderabad, Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals made their way past the league stage.

Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils bowed out of the competition after playing out the mandatory 14 matches each.

Last year it was RCB which finished at the bottom of the points table while DD proved to be the worst-performing team this season.

SRH topped the table after the league stage this season followed by CSK, KKR and RR.

What

Match 56 �the final league fixture of VIVO IPL 2018, will feature the Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab. While the former have a guaranteed berth in the playoffs, KXIP will see hope in the mathematical probability that they can still sneak into the top four. The realistic chance for KXIP to make the cut is if MI to lose to DD (or share points) earlier in the day, and they then beat CSK by a huge win so their net run rate can become better than that of the Rajasthan Royals�

In their previous match, CSK were caught out by a slow pitch and lost to the Delhi Daredevils. In the post-match chat, the CSK captain MS Dhoni said he wasn’t unduly troubled by the loss since the pitch had drastically slowed down and stroke-making was extremely difficult. CSK will be back at the familiar surrounds of their adopted home ground where they defeated the table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad the last time they played there.

Kings XI Punjab have had a dreadful run in recent times. Table-toppers at one point in time and an outfit considered a sure shot playoff qualifier, KXIP now rely on prayer and a complete domination. The Ravichandran Ashwin-led team have only one win in their last seven matches; that is in stark contrast to the first half of the season when they won 5 of their first six matches.

When

20 May 2018, 2000Hrs (IST)

Where

MCA International Stadium, Pune

Impact Batsmen

In CSK’s previous match in Delhi, the only batsman (from both sides) who stamped his authority on a difficult batting surface was Ambati Rayudu; the 32-year old has been relishing the task of opening the innings and is batting with a lot of freedom. The CSK opener is one of the few batsmen equally adept against pace and spin, and is unafraid to play the aerial strokes; he has a strike-rate of 161.64 against pace and 144.37 against spin, and has struck a total of 33 sixes so far this season. Shane Watson and MS Dhoni are the two other in-form batsmen for CSK; the latter has a season aggregate of 438 runs, while Dhoni’s aggregate stands at 430 runs (S/R 155.23).

The one batsman whose stock has risen by several notches in VIVO IPL 2018 is KL Rahul. The KXIP opener, who began the season smashing the fastest-ever half-century, has since shown he the temperament to bat long too; in three of his last five innings, Rahul has batted to the end twice and till the 19^th over one other occasion. Rahul’s opening partner �Chris Gayle �is the one other batsman capable of causing substantial damage with the bat; the Jamaican was sensational in his first few appearances but has gone off the boil in recent times. If KXIP are to make an improbable last minute dash to the playoffs, the two openers will have to come up with an extraordinary performance.

Impact Bowlers

KXIP’s batting has generally been powered by their two openers �KL Rahul and Chris Gayle. If Deepak Chahar, who has been extremely impressive with the new ball, is able to knock out them, he will have done a job for CSK.

Andrew Tye, the Purple Cap holder, is KXIP’s best bowler. The Australian has been used sparingly in the early overs and is generally brought on late in the innings. Tye’s numbers in the death overs are outstanding; he has 13 wickets and an economy rate of 7.81 when bowling in the last five overs of the innings.

Mujeeb ur Rahman �KXIP’s second-highest wicket-taker �is an invaluable asset; KXIP have missed him in the last couple of games after the young lad took a blow to his bowling hand. It will be a big boost for KXIP if the Afghanistan spinner has recovered �particularly given CSK’s struggles against spin.

Team Head to Head

Overall: Matches �18, Chennai Super Kings won �10, Kings XI Punjab won �8

In matches played at venues other than the two team’s respective headquarters, the head-to-head reads 4-4.

In the most recent meeting between these two teams at Mohali, Mohit Sharma bowled a fantastic last over to deny MS Dhoni and Chennai Super Kings right at the death. The KXIP pacer had 17 to defend against a well-set Dhoni, but conceded only 12 to lead KXIP to a 4-run win.

What

The Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians will clash in Match 55 of VIVO IPL 2018.

The Daredevils are the wooden spoon holders and will finish the season that way. They’ve won only four of their 13 matches �the last of them in their previous match against the Chennai Super Kings. Despite not batting their best, the Daredevils posted a respectable 162-5 and defended it.

The equation for the defending champions Mumbai Indians is straightforward: win this match and sail through to the playoffs. If MI are able to accomplish that, it will be some achievement. At one stage earlier in the season, MI were at the bottom of the table with one win from six outings; since then, they’ve won 5 of their next seven matches and now stand one win away from progressing to the next stage. In their previous outing, MI held their nerve to deny Kings XI Punjab in a thrilling encounter at the Wankhede Stadium; after Pollard and Krunal Pandya rescued them to 186-8, MI eked out a 3-run win.

The 22-yards used in this match will be a huge factor in this contest. The pitch used in the last match was a slow-paced surface and made stroke-play difficult. It will be interesting to see how the teams read the surface and adapt to the challenges.

When

20 May 2018, 1600Hrs (IST)

Where

Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Mumbai

Impact Batsmen

Rishabh Pant has been in smashing form with the bat this season; he has scored 620 runs this season �nearly as many as DD’s second and third highest run-getters put together. The left-hander needs 33 runs to reclaim the Orange Cap, and if he gets those runs and a few more, DD will sure be in a position of strength.

Four Mumbai lads �two on either side �will play crucial roles for their respective teams. The opener Prithvi Shaw and captain Shreyas Iyer are integral parts of the Delhi Daredevils batting line-up, while Suryakumar Yadav and captain Rohit Sharma form the nucleus of the Mumbai Indians batting line-up. The teenager Shaw is extremely talented and has all the shots in the book; he needs to restrain himself early on and give himself just those few deliveries to size the opposition and the conditions rather than go slam-bang from the word go.

It was against DD that Yadav was first given the opportunity to open the batting; the 27-year old seized the opportunity then, scored a half-century, and has not looked back since. The two captains Shreyas Iyer and Rohit Sharma (0 & 6 in last two innings) have had a few quiet knocks; MI need Rohit to make a substantial contribution in this high-stakes match.

Impact Bowlers

Given the 4pm start and the likelihood of a slow surface, Amit Mishra and Sandeep Lamichhane will play important roles in DD’s bowling plans. The two leg-spinners combined brilliantly in the previous match to derail the Chennai Super Kings, and a similar effort will be expected from them.

For MI, Jasprit Bumrah (16 wickets, economy 6.86) has been outstanding with the ball. The Pandya brothers will play important roles for MI too; Hardik is MI’s top wicket-taker this season, while Krunal will play an important role in this match given the likelihood of the surface assisting the spinners.

Team Head to Head

Overall: Matches �21, Delhi Daredevils won �10, Mumbai Indians won �11

In Delhi: Matches �8, Delhi Daredevils won �5, Mumbai Indians won �3

When the two teams met at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai earlier this season, the Daredevils registered their first win of VIVO IPL 2018; they chased down 195 riding on Jason Roy’s unbeaten 91 at the top of the innings.

What

Match 54 of VIVO IPL 2018 will be the clash between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders.

SRH are table-toppers and were the first team to secure a top-two berth in the standings. After a string of six consecutive wins, SRH has lost a little momentum recently, suffering defeats in their last two matches. The form of the bowlers must worry the team management; SRH has now conceded more than 180 in their last three matches. They had conceded 180 or more only twice in their first ten matches.

KKR are nearly there in the playoffs; they have 14 points, and a win in this match will guarantee them a place in the top four. Should they lose though, and other teams catch up, there is a chance they can be eliminated.

KKR have blown hot and cold; they have not won or lost more than two matches on the trot. They have won their last two matches �against Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals; if they are able to extend that streak to three wins, they will be well on their way to the playoffs.

When

19 May 2018, 2000Hrs (IST)

Where

Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad

Impact Batsmen

Kane Williamson has batted in this tournament like many would bat in a dream. The SRH captain has amassed 625 runs so far this season; he has made 8 half-centuries in 13 visits to the crease. His last knock �81 against RCB, will be included among the finest T20 knocks ever. Williamson brings an element of purity to batting in T20s; in the last game though, he emerged from his comfort zone and played a few strokes one isn’t accustomed to seeing him play. Among the others that SRH need firing are Shikhar Dhawan, who has been in excellent form in white-ball cricket, and Alex Hales.

The most-dangerous batsmen in the SRH ranks are Sunil Narine and Dinesh Karthik. The former is capable of destroying bowling attacks in a matter of minutes; if he happens to be at the crease for a handful of overs, he would have seen KKR off to a flying start. Karthik is at the core of KKR’s batting �literally too; the wicketkeeper-batsman bats in the middle-order and controls the innings. Chris Lynn has not set VIVO IPL 2018 alight just yet, but the Australian has batted very responsibly and has contributed important runs to KKR’s cause.

Impact Bowlers

The two bowlers who could have a huge influence on the outcome of this match are SRH’s Rashid Khan and KKR’s Sunil Narine. No matter how often they play them, batsmen continue to struggle against the two spinners. Both spinners are their respective team’s highest wicket-takers. Their season’s returns are pretty similar too; Rashid has 16 wickets (economy 7.17, strike-rate 19.50), while Narine has 15 wickets (economy 7.77, strike-rate 19.60).

SRH have the better support cast on the bowling front; Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul, and Sandeep Sharma have been outstanding for the most part of the season. Will they be able to rediscover their mojo?

Team Head to Head

Overall: Matches �13, Sunrisers Hyderabad won �5, Kolkata Knight Riders won �8

What

The Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore will clash in a virtual knockout in Match 53 of VIVO IPL 2018. Both teams have 12 points from 13 matches, and only a win can keep them in the race to the playoffs.

The Rajasthan Royals were in a woeful position about a month into the tournament; they had only three wins from nine matches and were facing elimination. However, they have since turned around their fortunes and are in with a fair shot of progressing to the next stage. For that to happen, they need to turn in a far better performance than their crash-and-succumb show in the last match against Kolkata Knight Riders; at Kolkata on Tuesday night, RR lost all ten for 82 runs to be bundled out for 142 in 19 overs, and allowed their opponents to chase down the runs in 18 overs. RR’s net run rate took a beating as an outcome of that result; their NRR is -0.403. For RR to stay in the playoff race, first and foremost they need a win, and thereafter they need to improve their poor net run rate in case it comes down to NRR being the deciding factor.

RR’s challenge is compounded further because two of their experienced players �Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes �have had to part ways with the team to join up with their national team commitments. Buttler was at the heart of RR’s revival of fortunes, and his departure is a massive blow. How RR address the void caused by his departure remains to be seen.

Royal Challengers Bangalore will believe they are peaking at the right time. They have three back-to-back wins going into this contest and must be brimming with confidence. Two of those three wins were clinical performances and team efforts, while the win against table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad in the last match was set up by some brilliant batting. RCB have a pretty good net run rate going into this match; if they get the better of their opponents in this match, there’s a good chance that should be sufficient to take them to the next stage.

When

19 May 2018, 1600Hrs (IST)

Where

Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

Impact Batsmen

In the absence of their man-in-form Jos Buttler, the onus now falls on captain Ajinkya Rahane and the experienced Sanju Samson to score big runs for the team. It has been a while since either of them made a significant score, and this high-stakes match is just the right opportunity for them to give a better account of themselves.

For the major part of the competition, RCB has been a two-man army on the batting front. Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers did the bulk of the scoring in the early part of the tournament; they are the two men most likely to play match-winning knocks. It augurs well for RCB that there have been useful contributions made by Parthiv Patel, Moeen Ali and Colin de Grandhomme in recent times.

Impact Bowlers

The one Rajasthan Royals bowler who has looked like taking wickets consistently is Jofra Archer; the 23-year old is his team’s highest wicket-taker �this despite missing the first five matches in the season. This is the first time he will be up against Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers; it will be interesting to see how he fares against them.

Umesh Yadav, RCB’s leading wicket-taker this season, has a score to settle against RR; he was taken for 59 runs the last time he ran into them. Since then though, Umesh has generally bowled well and has a reasonable economy of 7.64. YuzvendraChahalis the one other go-to bowler for Virat Kohli; the leg-spinner has not been able to run through sides like several others of his ilk have done, but he has picked up wickets every now and then and has given his captain excellent control from his end.

Team Head to Head

Overall: Matches �17, Rajasthan Royals won �8, Royal Challengers Bangalore won �8, No Result �1

In Jaipur: Matches �5, Rajasthan Royals won �2, Royal Challengers Bangalore won �3

What

The Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings will lock horns in Match 52 of VIVO IPL 2018. CSK have won 8 of their 12 matches; one more win will take their tally of points to 18, which will guarantee them a place in top two positions at the end of the league season. The Delhi Daredevils are at the floor of the eight-team table and are wooden spoon contenders; DD have won only 3 of their 12 matches �their last win was against the Rajasthan Royals on May 2.

After a poor start to the season, the Daredevils, in a desperate bid to resurrect their campaign, replaced their regular captain and handed the reins to Shreyas Iyer. That decision, and the win that followed immediately, briefly gave DD some hope. However, since then, the Daredevils have managed only one more win in the following five matches. In their most-recent match against RCB �on May 12, they ended on the wrong side of the result despite posting a competitive 181-4 batting first.

The Chennai Super Kings are coming into this at the back of a resounding win. In their last outing, on May 13, CSK prevailed in a clash against the table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad; CSK chased down 180 quite convincingly. Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu, who would go on to score his maiden T20 hundred, gave the team a strong start, after which Rayudu stitched together a partnership with MS Dhoni to seal the chase. CSK will be aware that they haven’t fared too well on the road in their last couple of matches; they lost to KKR at the Eden Gardens and RR in Jaipur. That’s an area MS Dhoni and co. will seek to improve, given they will have plenty of games to play outside of home (and adopted home venue) in the coming days.

When

18 May 2018, 2000Hrs (IST)

Where

Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi

Impact Batsmen

DD are packed with talented Indian batsmen. Rishabh Pant has flirted with the Orange Cap; the left-hander has made runs almost on every visit to the crease. Pant has been DD’s top-scorer in four of their last five matches; he has made scores of 79, 69, 18, 128* and 61, and is in a rich vein of form. Among the others, Prithvi Shaw and captain Shreyas Iyer have looked good too â€?though they have not made an impactful contribution in the last couple of matches. The teenager Abhishek Sharma, who made his debut in the previous match, made an instant impression with his body language, the strokes he played and the confidence he exuded while at the crease.

CSK have an in-form batting line-up. There are only ten batsmen with an aggregate of 400 runs or more this season; three of those batsmen don the CSK jersey. Suresh Raina has hit form recently (the left-hander has an aggregate of 315 runs against his name). The team’s lynchpins are the two men at the top – Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu. MS Dhoni has been sensational in his role as finisher; the CSK skipper, who has predominantly batted at 4 or 5, has now been not out in the last five innings.

Impact Bowlers

Trent Boult is Delhi Daredevils�top wicket-taker; the Kiwi left-arm pacer has been successful with the new ball and in the death overs, and has taken wickets in 9 of the 12 matches he has played. Amit Mishra was overlooked in the early days of the tournament, but since his return to the team, the 35-year old has illustrated that skill and experience make for a deadly combination. After returning figures of 0-76 in his first two matches, Mishra has since picked up 7 wickets in 6 matches, and has an economy rate of 6.95.

Deepak Chahar has become an invaluable asset for CSK; the 25-year old has been sensational, particularly with the new ball. In three of the 8 matches he has played in, the pacer from Agra has finished with an economy rate under five. Dwayne Bravo’s expertise in the death overs is a huge asset for CSK.

Team Head to Head

Overall: Matches �17, Delhi Daredevils won �5, Chennai Super Kings won �12

At the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground: Matches �5, Delhi Daredevils won �1, Chennai Super Kings won �4

What

Royal Challengers Bangalore, one of the five teams in the race for the VIVO IPL 2018 playoffs, will lock horns with table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad in Match 51.

Royal Challengers Bangalore have blown hot and cold this season, but they’re getting things together right at the business end. Virat Kohli’s team hadn’t won two matches on the bounce in their first ten matches. But faced with a backs-to-the-wall situation, they’ve pulled off two convincing wins in their last two matches; first, they chased down 182 quite easily against the Delhi Daredevils, and most recently routed Kings XI Punjab. The match against KXIP was by far their best; the bowler’s bowled to a plan, the fielders supported their cause in the field, and the openers then knocked off the runs required. As a result of that huge win against KXIP, RCB’s net run rate improved significantly, and they now need to win their remaining two matches to progress beyond the league stage.

Sunrisers became the first team to secure a playoff berth and were shortly thereafter guaranteed a finish in the top two. In their most recent match, they lost to the Chennai Super Kings in Pune. The team management will be just a little concerned that their bowling attack – considered the best in the competition – has now been taken for 180 or more in the last couple of matches; DD scored 187-5, and CSK made 180-2.

SRH should look at those two defeats positively; a blip at this stage – which ended the team’s run of six consecutive wins – would have served as a wake-up call and shaken the players off complacent zones they may have slipped into.

RCB cannot afford to lose, while Sunrisers would want to once again get back to the winning habit. Who will prevail?

When

17 May 2018, 2000 Hrs IST

Where

M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

Impact Batsmen

Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers are the biggest match-winners among the RCB batsmen. Both batsmen will be high on confidence after playing match-winning knocks recently; Kohli has made 70 & 48 not out in the two wins, while de Villiers was 72 not out in the chase against DD. RCB’s other man-in-form is Parthiv Patel; the left-hander has established himself as an important cog with scores of 53, 20, 6 & 40 not out.

For Sunrisers, Kane Williamson and Shikhar Dhawan have batted beautifully. For Williamson, scoring runs has become something similar to breathing; he just does it. He has to turn up at the crease, instincts kick in and the run meter starts ticking as a matter of routine. Dhawan endured a lean period after taking a blow on his left elbow, but in the last couple of matches returned to his run-scoring ways making 92 not out against Delhi Daredevils and 79 against CSK. Alex Hales has now been dismissed for three low scores; the English opener has the highest strike-rate among SRH’s batsmen, and he needs to survive those early overs to be able to do any significant damage.

Impact Bowlers

Umesh Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have become Virat Kohli’s two dependable bowlers. If Yadav is able to knock off the top-order cheaply, RCB will fancy themselves, given the SRH middle-order hasn’t been tested too often this season. Chahal has been successful in keeping control over the scoring, while also dismissing key batsmen in the opposition.

For Sunrisers, each of the bowler’s has made significant contributions to the team’s success. However, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, and Rashid Khan will have to do the bulk of the damage with the ball. In the last couple of matches, the trio has combined returns of 2-209 from his 24 overs – at an economy rate of 8.71 and an average of 104.50. SRH will need a vastly improved performance from them.

Head to Head

Overall: Matches – 11, Royal Challengers Bangalore won – 4, Sunrisers Hyderabad won – 7