Guwahati: Rajasthan Royals would like to avoid a hat-trick of losses and leave their second home with a win when they host five-time champions Chennai Super Kings at ACA Stadium here in the evening match on Sunday.
Following their loss in the first game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royals lost to Kolkata Knight Riders in their second game here on Wednesday. They were beaten by eight wickets in a low-scoring match by IPL standards.
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The Super Kings, on the other hand, after their opening win against Mumbai Indians, suffered their biggest defeat at home, to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), on Friday night. It was only their second loss to RCB at their fortress, the Chepauk.
Chennai, however, will take solace from the fact that the Guwahati track is on the slower side and is likely to assist the spinners in their ranks more than their home ground. After the defeat on Friday, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming had said that they no longer get any “home advantage” at the Chepauk despite having a spin-heavy attack.
“Well, as we’ve been telling you for a number of years, there was no home advantage at Chepauk,” Fleming said. “It’s not the Chepauk (of old) where you can just go in and play four spinners.”
In the previous game here, KKR spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Moeen Ali bowled a tight line and length to wreak havoc. Having frontline spinners like Ashwin, Jadeja, Noor and Pathirana in their ranks, the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side will fancy their chances.
For Royals, Yashasvi Jaiswal has not had good outings in the first two games while the middle order has also looked unsettled, with Riyan Parag coming in at No. 3.
RR head coach Rahul Dravid stressed on giving Riyan more time and balls in the middle. “Let’s be honest. Riyan is one of our best batsmen. We want to give him as many balls as we possibly can. The more balls Riyan bats for us, the better for us as a team. We know that Riyan has done really well at No. 4,” said Dravid.
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