Cricket Indian Premier League Prediction

Chennai Super Kings vs Punjab Kings - Match Preview

🏏 30 April 2023 - 14:00 GMT +0

All eyes will turn to the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai for the final Indian Premier League (IPL) game of April, one that could bring the Mumbai Indians’ campaign close to an end (as far as their qualification chances are concerned) if they cannot cause a shock win against joint-tournament favourites Rajasthan Royals. If last season’s standings were to be replicated, eight wins would be required to progress to the finals this season, leaving Mumbai with the difficult task of winning at least five of their seven remaining matches.

Mumbai was little more than pitiful with the bat in their previous outing, spared some embarrassment by a quickfire 40 from 22-year-old Newal Wadhera in his debut IPL campaign. They still fell short of a run chase away to defending champions Gujarat Titans by more than 50 runs, and have now suffered consecutive losses either side of a three-game winning streak earlier in the month. Most concerningly, as far as this game is concerned, their three wins have all been against sides in the bottom four of the standings after 37 matches, with all four defeats against the other franchises of the competition.

As the most expensive bowling unit of the competition at that same point (9.58rpo), Mumbai’s bowlers are going to have to be right on their game against a Rajasthan side that is averaging a blistering powerplay score of 56/1 this season, especially when Mumbai themselves are conceding 54 runs per powerplay for just eight total wickets in return. Jason Behrendorff, not even in the frame for T20 selection for Australia, was their only shining light during the first six overs (three wickets at 7.91 runs per over). The long-term gamble on Jofra Archer has backfired spectacularly with the English speedster making just two appearances (2/75) before sneaking off to Belgium for more operations.

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler remain one of the most formidable opening partnerships of the competition, registering the highest opening stand for their team six times already in IPL 2023, even after slowing down a touch throughout the middle portion of the season. They were back to their blistering best in a home win against Chennai Super Kings, piling on 85 runs unbeaten in the first eight overs on the way to the largest-ever IPL score in Jaipur. It propelled them back to the top of the standings, and having already thrashed both Delhi and Hyderabad by 57 and 72 runs respectively, they should be confident of dishing out similar treatment to another vulnerable and struggling opposition.

Rajasthan produced an indifferent 5-5 record at the Wankhede Stadium during the COVID-impacted 2022 and 2021 seasons but defeated Mumbai in their two prior away encounters. That forms part of six wins from their last ten encounters with Mumbai, all of which they started as the underdogs. This time, for the first time since 2015, they’ll likely go in as the ones to beat - a tag their 9-10 record as pre-match favourites since the start of 2019 suggests they don’t often handle too well.

⚡ Players to watch: So high are the expectations hoisted upon Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma that, despite being dismissed for fewer than 20 runs just twice this IPL season, even the likes of the legendary Sunil Gavaskar are calling for him to have some time off. The sight of Rohit might be just what Royals bowler Sandeep Sharma needs to bounce back from his first wicketless appearance of the 2023 IPL, for Sandeep has outstanding career figures of 4/37 against Rohit in T20s.

📋 Stat attack: Eight of the last ten H2Hs were won by the chasing team.

• Mumbai recorded the larger powerplay score in each of the last six H2Hs.
• The average first innings score in IPL games played at this venue since the start of 2022 is 169.
• Ravichandran Ashwin has never dismissed Suryakumar Yadav in a T20, conceding a hefty 106 runs from 74 balls.
• Ashwin finished with multiple wickets in just three of his 19 IPL innings at Wankhede Stadium.
• Piyush Chawla is the only Mumbai bowler to take a wicket in all three of their home games in 2023.
• Chawla has returned Mumbai’s best figures (wickets followed by economy rate) in three of his last five bowling innings.

Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals - Match Preview

🏏 30 April 2023 - 18:00 GMT +0

Their mid-table positions had already painted an intriguing backdrop, but recent performances with bat and ball (for better or for worse) from the Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings has given Indian Premier League (IPL) fans plenty to be excited about for this Sunday afternoon fixture. After the last four games involving either franchise produced an immense six 200+ scores, viewers hoping for another gluttony of runs just need the MA Chidambaram Stadium ground staff to hold up their end of the bargain!

It indeed was a low scoring grind the last time the IPL stopped by the Cooum River as the home side had to settle for a modest run rate of 7.39rpo in a chase of 135, 18 days after they and the Lucknow Super Giants both piled on 200+ runs each in the second round of matches. This year is the first opportunity since 2019 for the Super Kings to reclaim Chepauk’s “fortress” status and they’ve been off to a reasonable start so far. After no franchise other than Mumbai was able to defeat Chennai over a 21-game period, the Super Kings have conquered Lucknow and Hyderabad at home in 2023 either side of an agonising three-run loss to tournament favourites Rajasthan.

They lost to the Royals for a second time in their most recent outing when unable to get close to an imposing run chase of 203 after conceding the largest IPL score Jaipur has ever witnessed. Despite that, they remain the fastest-scoring team of this edition (9.51rpo) heading into the weekend, clearing 170+ runs six times whilst averaging a very healthy 57 runs per powerplay. Ruturaj Gaikwad overtook Devon Conway as Chennai’s leading powerplay runscorer (164 at 9.19rpo) last match and, if Conway and Rahane can also get back to their best, it’ll be a deadly top three.

If one bowler can manage such a threat with the new ball in 2023, it is Arshdeep Singh. Hailed on Friday by former India head coach Ravi Shastri as a future all-format player for the national team, Arshdeep has picked up six powerplay wickets albeit at a costly 9.35rpo. He has had almost no support in the early overs this year, and would have welcomed the sight of Kagiso Rabada removing Lucknow openers KL Rahul and Kyle Mayers within the powerplay of their previous match - even if Mayers had already recorded a half-century by then!

From the moment that Atharva Taide dropped KL Rahul off the first ball of the match, it was evident that it was not going to be Punjab’s night. It was just their second loss from six starts as pre-match outsiders in 2023, though, with previous wins away to both Lucknow and Rajasthan earlier in the season there to remind them that they can conquer any opposition in foreign territory. They just need to fix up their bowling in the final four overs, where they are conceding a hefty 12 runs per over - and that kind of bowling won’t go well against the likes of Jadeja and Dhoni, nor Ajinkya Rahane who has struck 33 runs from nine balls in the death period this year!

⚡ Players to watch: “Hot or cold” Chennai opener Devon Conway posted his third single-digit score in Jaipur to go with five of 45+ runs from eight starts this year. Three of his five best scores have been in Chennai (47, 77*, 50), so he’ll be expected to bounce back immediately.

If there’s anyone who has a habit of getting started in Chennai but is unable to follow through, it must be Punjab captain Shikhar Dhawan. In his nine IPL innings at Chepauk, Dhawan has a single half-century, a lowest score of 16, and seven others in between.

📋 Stat attack: The team with the most powerplay runs went on to win the last 12 H2Hs.

• Kagiso Rabada has dismissed Ruturaj Gaikwad three times in T20s at an average of 18.67.
• In Chennai, however, Rabada has career figures of 1/50 from six IPL overs bowled.
• Ravindra Jadeja has taken Shikhar Dhawan’s wicket just once in T20s, conceding 119 runs from 13.3 overs along the way.
• Jadeja picked up hauls of 2/21 (v Rajasthan) and 3/22 (v Hyderabad) in his last two home games.
• Rahul Chahar was the joint-leading wicket-taker from IPL games played in Chennai in 2021, collecting nine from his 20 overs bowled (average 15.22, 6.85rpo).