Champions Chennai Super Kings host Gujarat Titans in the IPL on Tuesday, when Richard Mann has one strong fancy in his match preview.
In a repeat of last year’s final, Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans renew hostilities on Tuesday, 2:00pm UK time.
Both teams kicked off their respective IPL2024 campaigns with victories, though neither side was faultless, and another good battle should be in the offing.
I plumped for CSK in my outright preview here, but despite losing a couple of their 2023 cast, I have the utmost respect for the Titans who pulled off a typically nerveless heist against pre-tournament favourites Mumbai Indians on Sunday.
Spin generally plays a big role in Chennai, so the Titans will fancy their chances with fit-again Rashid Khan leading the bowling attack, while Mohit Sharma’s clever variations and cutters ought to keep the CSK batting line-up honest.
Reliable Rahane the best bet
This Titans bowling attack is a very good one, even without the injured Mohammed Shami, and perhaps the best man in the home line-up to combat that threat is AJINKYA RAHANE.
The veteran has seen it all and following a solid season last term when he scored in excess of 300 runs at a strike-rate of 172.48, Rahane kicked off with a typically silky 27 against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday before he was brilliantly caught in the deep by Glenn Maxwell.
Rahane’s dismissal when misjudging an attempted pull shot came out of the blue, as he had up until that point looked in little danger, building on the good 73 he made in the recent Ranji Trophy final.
He has always been a classy player, as 12 Test hundreds demonstrate, and up against a good attack on a pitch that isn’t always easy for batting, I’d rather take his excellent all-round game against all types of bowling over some of his more one-dimensional teammates.
Reborn since being brought back into the IPL fold by CSK last year and then handed the considerable responsibility of batting in the top four, we saw enough from Rahane on Friday to suggest he will do plenty of damage again this season.
With Sky Bet offering 11/2, Rahane looks worth a bet from his expected number three position.
Preview published at 1245 GMT on 25/03/24
Related links
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
