The biggest game of the season is here. It’s the flamboyance of Kohli against the calmness of Dhoni, the genius of ABD against the flair of Bravo and the fanaticism of RCB fans against the fanaticism of the CSK fans.
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While the two franchises have the same amount of stars and similar fan following, their legacies in the IPL are a bit different.
A lot of it has to do with how MS Dhoni has managed his troops over the last decade or so, picking the right players, identifying young talent and instilling that winning belief in them.
Virat Kohli has failed to identify his core group of players(except probably himself and ABD) and thus RCB have chopped and changed a little too much to let anyone settle into their role.
However, the RCB think tank seems to have finally figured things out, spacing out their foreign players and getting in every department to help out the Indian domestic players.
CSK have had a host of changes this year but have retained most of their old core and the players have stepped up big time, dishing out match winning performances in the first half of the IPL.
Let’s get to business now!
IPL Fantasy League(Fantasy Tips for RCB vs CSK)
Transfer out: Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, Krunal Pandya
Transfer in: Virat Kohli, Shane Watson/ABD, Deepak Chahar
Now, I don’t have any players in my side from this game.
Virat Kohli would be the first player that I get in for this game. He has looked in exceptional form this season and could bonkers against CSK tonight.
The fact that he plays at number 3 means that he would be able to avoid the prodigious swing of Deepak Chahar upfront and will also be able to get enough overs to make a significant impact in the game.
Now, do you get in ABD or do you leave him out is the big question that you need to answer for this game.
ABD has looked in ominous form this tournament, but my team combination does not allow me to get him in, as I can’t have 6 batsmen in my side. (This is when I transfer out Krunal Pandya, if I transfer out Surya, I can get ABD in, more on that later in the article)
So, I’ll necessarily have to pick one from Kohli and de Villiers and considering all factors, I feel Kohli is the safer option.
Ab de Villiers’ impact potential comes down big time when RCB bat second, as he might have too much or too little to do. Yes, he did play that innings of 90 odd while batting second, but you can’t always expect the RCB top order to not get enough runs and give ABD the opportunity to bat for as long as he did that day.
There’s just too much ‘chance’ around it, and I am not willing to take it at this stage.
If you want to still get in ABD, get him in only if RCB bat first, and leave out Virat Kohli in that case.
Shane Watson has been a revelation for CSK this season, delivering with both bat and ball. He scored a magnificent hundred against RR and has chipped in with at least one wicket in every CSK game until now.
While I don’t expect him to score a 100 once again, he could use his knowledge about the Chinnaswamy wicket to good effect to contribute with both bat and ball today.
For the uncapped player, the obvious choice would be Deepak Chahar, who has dished out amazing bowling performances this season.
I won’t be bringing in any more players from this game.
The only other option that could be considered is that of Suresh Raina, especially if you are one of those people who believe in superstitions. All of CSK’s batsmen have won their team at least one game in this tournament, except Suresh Raina. Going by the trend, he could win the game for RCB tonight.
So, if you feel superstitions work for you, get in Raina, if possible.
Final Verdict: The pressure of getting in ABD is too high, because if he tees off, he could go really big. But if you get in ABD, Kohli and Chahar, all your players will be featuring in the same innings, hence giving you no choice for a second innings captain. If you are ready to take that risk for ABD, do so, and keep ABD as second innings captain, as he could gobble up a few catches at long on/long off.
However, if RCB bat second, get in Kohli and Watson and do as below.
Match Powerplayer: Virat Kohli/Shane Watson(whoever bats first)
2nd innings powerplayer- Virat Kohli/Shane Watson(whoever bats second)
Fandromeda(Fantasy Tips for RCB vs CSK)
Transfer out: Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah
Transfer in: Virat Kohli, Shane Watson
Now, I don’t have anyone in my side for this game.
Again, Virat Kohli will be the first player that I get into my side for this game. For Fandromeda, there is no real chance that I get in ABD, and so it had to be one from Kohli and ABD.
I go in with Kohli because of the reasons already mentioned in the IPL Fantasy League section.
Shane Watson will be the second player that I get into my side for this game. Again, I have already mentioned my reasons in the IPL Fantasy League section.
Batting Powerplayer: Virat Kohli
Bowling Powerplayer: Shane Watson
