On Friday, March 28, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will square off in their second IPL 2025 match.
Given their highly anticipated rivalry, particularly following their league stage matchup from the previous season, this game will be crucial for both sides. However, CSK will be missing their star bowler, Matheesha Pathirana, in the match. Notably, the team’s head coach Stephan Fleming announced prior to the crucial game that the bowler is still recovering from an injury.
The legendary MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai’s Chepauk, which serves as CSK’s stronghold, will host the thrilling match. With their spin attack, RCB would have a difficult time defeating the team. Noor Ahmad, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ravichandran Ashwin, the hosts’ strong bowling trio, bowled brilliantly against the Mumbai Indians (MI), their bitter rivals, in the previous game.
This season, RCB has a strong team. They will go into the match with a lot of confidence because they defeated KKR rather easily in their home stadium. They might not, however, have as strong of a spin attack as their rival. When these two teams faced each other last season, RCB eliminated the Chennai-based team from the competition.
The RCB supporters made fun of the CSK supporters after the game. This is the primary cause of the escalation in the rivalry between the two franchises. In the next match, the team captained by Ruturaj Gaikwad will be eager to exact revenge on RCB. In the meantime, Rajat Patidar and company will be confident going into the match to maintain their winning streak in the current competition.
CSK likely 11s
Rachin Ravindra, Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda, Shivam Dube, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (WK), R Ashwin, Nathan Ellis, Noor Ahmad, and Khaleel Ahmed are the probable starting lineup for the Chennai Super Kings.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (likely starting lineup):
Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Suyash Sharma, Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar (C), Devdutt Padikkal, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Virat Kohli, and Josh Hazlewood
India
