Up against CSK, RR eyes top-2 finish

MUMBAI: Rajasthan Royals would look to ensure a top-two finish at the end of the league stage when it faces the already eliminated Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2022 here on Friday.

A win for the Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan (16 points from 13 matches, net run rate of +0.304) would take it to 18 points and ahead of Lucknow Super Giants (18 points from 14 matches, net run rate of +0.251) by virtue of net run rate.

So, RR would be eager to turn the heat on CSK (8 points from 13 matches), which could be a party pooper in its final game of the season. With the play-offs not far away, Royals would want Jos Buttler – who leads the batting chart with 627 runs – to return to his prime.

The opening batter has been enduring a mini slump, having registered scores of 22, 30, 7 and 2 in the last four outings. Up against Buttler would be the rookie pace trio of Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh and Matheesha Pathirana, which would like to show its wares for one last time.

As for Rajasthan’s bowling, the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal (24 wickets and economy rate of 7.76) and Ravichandran Ashwin (10 wickets and an economy rate of 7.15) has been creating plenty of problems for the opposition batters. With pacers Trent Boult and Prasidh

Krishna also in the mix, Royals would back itself to get the job done against an inconsistent Super Kings batting pack.

Barring opener Ruturaj Gaikwad (366 runs) none of the CSK batters have crossed the 300-run mark in what has been a disappointing campaign for the defending champ.

The MS Dhoni-led Chennai tried out lesser experienced players in the last two games, so it remains to be seen if the team continues with its end-ofthe-season experimentation.