Chennai Super Kings have won only two of their six matches so far and will take on Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore in Dubai.
Chennai Super Kings' disappointing loss at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders earlier this week raised many questions on the side's weaknesses in the batting order. The CSK were seemingly cruising to a win in the 168-run chase at the end of 10 overs, putting 90 runs on the board while losing only one wicket. But the middle-order failed to step up as the side could only add 67 runs in the next ten overs.
The RCB, meanwhle, had a bright start in comparison to the past year as the side stands at fourth in the points table, with three wins in five matches. RCB have produced impressive performances and look to make the claim for a play-off spot.
Despite Shane Watson finding his range in a 10-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab and Faf du Plessis's consistency at the top, the CSK middle-order continues to remain a concern for CSK with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni himself not being at his best.
If they do decide to bench Kedar Jadhav after his prolonged struggle, they have the option of recalling Ruturaj Gaikwad or picking N Jagadeesan, who has been warming the bench since the 2018 season.
While worries remain on the batting front, the CSK bowling has got better and they did well to restrict KKR in the previous game with influential all-rounder Dwayne Bravo returning to his wicket-taking ways.
Karn Sharma, who came in for Piyush Chawla did well to pick up a couple of wickets while not going for too many runs and the skipper will expect him to do the same against a formidable RCB batting unit.
Yet, Dhoni would prefer the pacers -- Deepak Chahar, Sam Curran and Shardul Thakur -- to provide early breakthroughs and stem the run flow.
The RCB may have faltered in their match against Delhi Capitals on the other night, but look stronger on both, paper and form as they meet MS Dhoni's side in Dubai.
Virat Kohli is slowly finding his groove with the bat, and youngster Devdutt Padikkal has also looked in good touch with a strong start. If the big-hitting Aaron Finch can provide a rapid start at the top, it would serve RCB better.
It is the bowling which would worry Kohli, though. Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has, as always, been the leading bowler while Washington Sundar has been frugal upfront.
However, the pacers have not lived up to their reputation, with the likes of Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Navdeep Saini leaking runs.
Experienced Sri Lankan Isuru Udana's inclusion has given a semblance of control towards the end of the innings.
How CSK's batting does against an up-and-down RCB bowling attack and how its batters fare against the Super Kings bowlers could decide the fate of the game.
Squads:
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (captain, WK), M Vijay, Ambati Rayudu, Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Kedar Jadhav, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Lungi Ngidi, Deepak Chahar, Piyush Chawla, Imran Tahir, Mitchell Santner, Josh Hazlewood, Shardul Thakur, Sam Curran, N Jagadeesan, KM Asif, Monu Kumar, R Sai Kishore, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Karn Sharma.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (captain), AB de Villiers, Parthiv Patel, Aaron Finch, Josh Philippe, Chris Morris, Moeen Ali, Mohammed Siraj, Shahbaz Ahmed, Devdutt Padikkal, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, Dale Steyn, Pawan Negi, Isuru Udana, Shivam Dube, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Washington Sundar, Pavan Deshpande, Adam Zampa.
