On Monday, April 17, a fiery south Indian derby will take place at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) taking on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2023.
This will be the lone meeting between the two teams during the league phase of the IPL 2023. The Super Kings and the Royal Challengers shared the title last year after meeting twice. They have both won two of their four matches this season.
A win for either club will not only propel them to the top of the points table, but will also provide the kind of momentum that will propel them through the rest of their season.
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With that in mind, here are three things RCB must execute correctly in order to defeat CSK in Monday’s IPL 2023 match.
#1 Preventing the CSK top order from settling
CSK’s prospects are mainly on on their top three – Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, and Ajinkya Rahane – with the middle order still struggling. Their defeat to the Rajasthan Royals (RR) was due to their middle order’s failure to make the greatest use of the middle overs, something RCB should take note of.
In IPL 2023, Mohammed Siraj has been bowling like a dream with the new ball, and it will be up to him to halt Gaikwad and Conway early on. RCB are well supplied as one of the stronger powerplay bowling units, with either Wayne Parnell, who has swung the new ball well, or Josh Hazlewood, who may slot into the starting XI, for company. As one of the stronger powerplay bowling teams in this competition, RCB is well loaded.
If they continue to do so on Monday, they will not only get an early advantage in the game, but they will also put pressure on CSK’s struggling middle order to perform.
#2 Accelerate the bat against the spin
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In the powerplay for RCB in IPL 2023, Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli have been in spectacular form with the bat. However, both have struggled to keep the tempo going against spin in the middle overs and must find a way to increase it by a couple of notches.
It’s especially important against CSK, who rely on a spin stifle to dictate the shots in the middle overs. With Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, and Maheesh Theekshana in the opposition camp, RCB must be careful not to allow the game slip away from them.
In an ideal scenario, either Du Plessis or Kohli would be paired with a spinner. Both Mahipal Lomror and Glenn Maxwell are capable of doing so, but if the openers continue to bat after the powerplay, they must maintain their momentum and not allow the Super Kings’ spinners to dictate the game.
#3 Appropriate use of their resources
While they got away against the Delhi Capitals (DC), RCB received a lot of criticism for their decision to use Anuj Rawat as an impact substitute and batting him out of position at No. 8.
Not only did this deprive them of the option of an additional bowling option in Karn Sharma, but they also failed to utilize the batting prowess of Wanindu Hasaranga and Parnell. Hasaranga’s game against spin is exactly what the Challengers require given what CSK’s tweakers can throw at them in the middle overs. Hence, promoting him up the order is a good way to go.
RCB are happy to send Harshal Patel as a pinch-hitter, although it hasn’t worked so far. To ensure they make it three wins out of five for IPL 2023, they will do well to use their resources to the fullest and nail the right entry point for their batters.
Also Read: IPL 2023: Points Table, Orange Cap And Purple Cap Leaders After RR vs GT (cricfiles.com)
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