In a clash between two star-studded teams who occupy the top two spots in the points table, RCB will take on CSK in match 19 of IPL 2021 – here’s the preview and Dream11 tips for your fantasy side.

RCB have started IPL 2021 like no other season, having posted four wins in as many games, and would be entering the high-voltage clash riding high on confidence. Their last win, against a lacklustre RR outfit, was a comprehensive 10-wicket triumph, highlighted by all the elements of their success story so far: a clear plan, a combined bowling effort and a stellar batting performance, with a new hero emerging almost every game.

CSK, on the other hand, have done well to bounce back from their opening loss and look a much more settled side than the one last year, with the top order firing and the new-ball bowlers making a difference. The middle order is yet to fire though, with questions over MS Dhoni’s waning abilities with the bat, even though his captaincy tactics, so far, have been on point.

Head to head record

Overall: CSK 17 – 9 RCB

Since 2018: CSK 4 – 2 RCB

Team record at Wankhede Stadium

CSK: 4 wins, 7 losses

RCB: 10 wins, 8 losses

Here’s the complete IPL 2021 schedule, along with TV and live streaming details.

CSK RCB Dream11 fantasy tips

• In the wicketkeeper section, AB de Villiers comfortably edges out MS Dhoni, in terms of the probable batting impact he can create. Dhoni is yet to get going this season and has looked rusty in the four matches so far, while de Villiers is fine nick whenever he has batted, with scores of 48, 1 and 76* so far, with a strike-rate of 189.39, the best in the tournament so far.
• Glenn Maxwell and Moeen Ali are sure-shot all-rounder picks. While Maxwell has been thriving with his new team at No.4, Moeen at No.3 has been effective as well, with both players promising a flurry of boundary points if they get going. While Moeen has struck the ball at 152.87, Maxwell’s number stands at 149.15.
• Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli are safe picks, as they very rarely get dismissed early, and can go on to play a long knock once they get going. Leaving Faf du Plessis out is a risk, given the form he is in, but he doesn’t come cheap at 10 credits and could be tested against RCB’s new-ball attack, who have been pretty successful so far in powerplays.
• Deepak Chahar has been on top of his game so far and is likely to give you points both for wickets and economy rate – so far, he has delivered the most dot balls (18) in the season. Lungi Ngidi is another wicket-taking option who claims easy victims at the death.

Probable XI

CSK: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (c, wk), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar

RCB: Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (c), Shahbaz Ahmed/Rajat Patidar, AB de Villiers (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Dan Christian, Washington Sundar, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Siraj

Rewind: IPL 2020 matches – CSK vs RCB

Game 1: RCB won by 37 runs

Game 2: CSK won by 8 wickets

CSK RCB Dream11 Team

Potential swaps

Ambati Rayudu for Suresh Raina

Harshal Patel for M Siraj

R Jadeja for L Ngidi

Captaincy options in order

Maxwell, Chahar, Kohli, Ali, de Villiers