Chennai Super Kings host Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL on Friday – Richard Mann provides his preview.
Cricket betting tips: Chennai Super Kings v Royal Challengers Bengaluru
2pts Rachin Ravindra top Chennai Super Kings batsman at 4/1 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)
Expect a change of pace in the IPL on Friday, when Chennai Super Kings are back in action for their home clash with Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
CSK have always been an incredibly tough nut to crack at home, sticking to their strengths and excelling in turning conditions that their spin-heavy attack can dominate in.
Those spinners – Noor Ahmed, Ravi Ashwin and Ravi Jadeja – were excellent as CSK restricted Mumbai Indians to only 155-9 batting first on this ground on Sunday.
And the subsequent run chase was no walk in the park either, CSK winning by four wickets but needing 19.1 overs to get there.
Nevertheless, I’m not sure conditions were quite as challenging as those scores suggest, and it’s worth noting that Rachin Ravindra and Ruturaj Gaikwad still made fifties at a good lick, the former striking at 144.44 and the latter 203.84.
At the time of writing, when we’ve witnessed six scores of 200+ from only five matches, it’s easy to take a dim view of anything in the region of 150, but while Chennai has never been an Eden Gardens and or a Wankhede, historically it has tended to play well early season before deteriorating later on.
In sum, don’t bank on the pitch being a minefield. I'm not sure I'll be in a hurry to short runs, anyway.
The one bet I’m keen to strike at this stage is on the aforementioned RACHIN RAVINDRA to be top CSK batsman at 4/1.
Ravindra won this market with an unbeaten 65 on Sunday, a welcome contribution given CSK have backed the Kiwi left-hander to the hilt after a challenging first IPL season last term.
The reason for such strong backing is because Ravindra is a genuine superstar in the making, hot from finishing as the leading runscorer at the recent Championship Trophy, where he made 263 runs at an average of 65.75.
Ravindra is all class, and with Gaikwad having somewhat surprisingly moved himself down to number three, Ravindra is all the more appealing.
I predict big things from Ravindra in the next few weeks, and the 4/1 knocking about is definite value.
Updated at 1435 GMT on 26/03/25
Related links
- Richard Mann's IPL outright preview
- Richard Mann's IPL specials preview
- Paul Krishnamurty's IPL guide to the grounds
- Click here for Sky Bet's cricket odds
- Latest Cricket...Only Bettor Podcast
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