Chennai Super Kings v Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL Tips: To the Max

• CSK fair favs

• Pitch takes spin historically

• Maxwell to the fore with the ball

Chennai Super Kings v Royal Challengers Bangalore
Friday 22 March, 14.30
TV: Live on Sky Sports

Chennai Super Kings v Royal Challengers Bangalore team news

Ruturaj Gaikwad has replaced MS Dhoni as skip on the eve of the tournament. It's a surprising move in terms of timing but one suspects it was kept in-house for long enough to ensure no panic.

Rachin Ravindra could well open the batting in the absence of Devon Conway. CSK may also find room for Sameeer Rizvi.

Possible XI: Gaikwad, Ravindra, Mitchell, Dube, Moeen, Jadeja, Dhoni, Thakur, Chahar, Deshpande, Pathirana

Virat Kohli is back. Not surprising, then, that the old RCB problems remain. The top order with the bat is pretty good, there's not much after that and they have one again neglected the bowling. Consider that Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga and Josh Hazlewood have all been let go in recent years.

Possible XI: Kohli, Du Plessis, Patidar, Maxwell, Green, Chauhan, Lomror, Karthik, Deep, Topley, Siraj

Chennai Super Kings v Royal Challengers Bangalore pitch report

Eleven of the last 19 at the Chepauk have seen first-innings scores of under 160. Only Lucknow has a lower batting run rate of the IPL venues. The first-innings line is currently 169.5 which seems high even if we account for the probability that the wicket will be at it's best early on.

Sportsbook go under 12.5 sixes at 5/61.84. Again it's a great bet maybe a couple of games in. Ten or fewer have won at 59% in the last five years as discussed on Cricket....Only Bettor.

Chennai Super Kings v Royal Challengers Bangalore match odds

Chennai are 1.774/5 with RCB 2.285/4. It's a decent price about a Chennai team which has been so dominant at home.

The gulf between the sides has also been shown to be big on the head-to-head. Chennai have won five of the last six.

Essentially this is a heat between a crack IPL team and one which starts with something else beginning with C. The hosts should claim the spoils.

Chennai Super Kings v Royal Challengers Bangalore Exchange strategy

We're not shy of a tie trade in T20 and the Chepauk surface is conducive to a tight game. A fraught affair could be in the offing at some stage on this wicket this year and there's always an option for a big back-to-lay on the tie price. From the off at around the 40.039/1 mark that price can collapse in the last four overs of a tight chase. It's a good strategy for other stodgy surfaces, such as Lucknow.

Chennai Super Kings v Royal Challengers Bangalore player bets

Glenn Maxwell is priced as a part-time bowler by Sportsbook for RCB. At 6/17.00 he has a good chance of getting a full quota on a wicket which is kind to spinners. Chennai have built their success on spin.

There's a 1.4% edge on Virat Kohli for two-year win rate for top RCB bat after he was boosted to 13/53.60 but we might wait to see how he shapes up after a long break. Gaikwad is boosted to 3/14.00 but we need 4s.

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