3 things RR need to get right to beat CSK in IPL 2023

MS Dhoni shakes hands with the Rajasthan Royals team after CSK's narrow defeat in the previous game.

Table-toppers Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will take on the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in match 37 of IPL 2023 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Thursday, April 27.

The venue has been a fortress for the inaugural champions and they will look to make it two wins in two against CSK this season when they meet later today.

The last time the two teams met, it was Sandeep Sharma who held his nerves and denied MS Dhoni a golden opportunity to finish the match with a six.

The conditions will be different in Jaipur and we should be in for another crackerjack of a contest.

The Royals, who were at the top of the points table not long ago, have lost their last two games against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and will look to return to winning ways.

CSK, on the other hand, have won their last three games and will be high on confidence coming into this encounter.

With the match slated to begin in a few hours' time, let’s take a look at three things RR need to get right to beat CSK in today’s IPL 2023 game.

#1. The opening combination

Buttler and Jaiswal holds the key for Rajasthan at the top.

The likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler at the top of the order is always a worrying sign for any opposition team, but the two swashbuckling batters are yet to find their rhythm in the tournament so far.

While we have seen flashes of their brilliance so far, they have been nowhere close to their dominant best.

Jaiswal’s role becomes very important as his tempo more or less decides the way Buttler will play. If Jaiswal gets them off to a good start, Buttler will try to match him stroke for stroke and vice versa.

However, if Jaiswal gets into a shell or gets dismissed early, it puts pressure on Buttler and he tends to slow down in the middle overs.

#2. The role of spinners in the middle overs

Ashwin and Chahal have been a deadly combination for the Rajasthan Royals.

Rajasthan boasts two of the finest Indian spinners of the modern generation. In Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, the Royals have found a deadly combination who have the ability to run through attacks on spin-friendly decks and also contain batters when the pitch is not so favorable for the spinners.

Both spinners had a relatively off day against RCB. It’s never easy to contain at the Chinnaswamy Stadium but back in Jaipur, the spin duo will certainly look to make a difference.

Both are wicket-takers and their eight overs could prove to be decisive in the context of the game.

#3. Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer’s batting positions

Samson and Hetmyer has been the backbone of the Rajasthan Royals in the last two years.

Skipper Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer are the two most valuable players in the Rajasthan set-up. While Padikkal’s presence at No. 3 hasn’t allowed Samson to bat up the order, it is understandable given the fact that Padikkal is already batting out of position.

Samson at No. 4 isn’t a bad option but we have seen Hetmyer being pushed down the order as that's the only role that has been defined for him and that is finishing games.

Hetmyer has been a regular middle-order batter for West Indies and has done reasonably well in franchise cricket as well.

While he did win RR a game not long ago, given the fact that he is one of the most dangerous strikers of the ball, Hetmyer should get an opportunity to bat more overs. Sanju has to utilize himself and Hetmyer to extract the most out of RR's batting depth.