Two in-form sides Chennai and Bangalore will lock horns in Southern Derby of Indian T20 League 2021. Bangalore are sitting at the top of the table, while Chennai occupies the second spot in the table.
Match Timings: April 25, 3:30 PM IST
Team Preview
In first double-header game of this weekend will be played between Chennai and Bangalore. Both sides made a fluent start to the season and take the first two positions in the points table.
Bangalore can never expect such a positive start to Indian T20 League. Kohli’s troops made it four out of four and retained their top spot in the points table. In the previous game, Rajasthan managed to get 177 after the top-order failure and Bangalore made the mockery of this chase by finishing the game without losing a single wicket. Devdutt Padikkal scored his maiden century and he became the third uncapped Indian player to score a hundred in Indian T20 League. Kohli also stood tall by scoring a fine half-century.
Bangalore ticks all the points right and they have been a compact side. Middle-order is boosted by Maxwell and ABD with consistent performances. The Bowling unit has been improved. They got Harshal Patel who is delivering his best in death-overs while Siraj is making good use of pace and impressed with his wicket-taking ability with the new ball. Wins in the last two games showcased their dominance and Bangalore would look to extend this winning run. They had a poor record against Chennai but this side entered in 2021 with a different mindset and they can surprise Chennai.
Meanwhile, Chennai changed their gear after losing the opening encounter against Delhi. They overcame the next three battles convincingly and all three victories came with ease. In the previous game, Gaikwad scored a fabulous half-century and Plessis scored 95. Top-order shined with the bat and Chennai scored 220. After the early damage by Deepak Chahar, Kolkata fought hard riding on Russell and Cummins but Chennai managed to take two points from this game.
Chennai is slowly catching the rhythm and they got a positive start to the tournament. Moeen Ali is doing very well in middle-order and they have good depth in batting. Ngidi was also included in the previous game so it will boost their pace-attack. Deepak Chahar’s magic with the new ball continues. They have to improve their death-bowling but Dhoni knows how to tackle his bowlers. Chennai cannot take Bangalore lightly and they have to play their best game to defeat table-toppers.
Pitch Report
Mumbai’s track is a fine T20 surface which allows lot of runs in both innings. Pacers can take advantage with the new ball and we can expect slight help to spin if dew is not there. Chasing would be an ideal call after winning the toss.
Possible XI
Chennai
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Sam Curran, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi, Deepak Chahar
Bangalore
Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Shahbaz Ahmed, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers (wk), Washington Sundar, Kyle Jamieson, Kane Richardson, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
Key Players
Chennai
Faf du Plessis
164 runs in 4 innings, top-scorer for Chennai
Deepak Chahar
Effective with the new ball, 8 wickets from 4 matches
Bangalore
Virat Kohli
143 runs in 4 innings and leading from the front with three 30 plus scores
Glenn Maxwell
176 runs in 3 innings, having a top form
