Find out team news, TV and streaming information, odds, weather forecasts and much, much more ahead of the next game of the 2021 Indian Premier League season
Royal Challengers Bangalore meet Chennai Super Kings in the 2021 Indian Premier League.
The game is scheduled for 6pm UAE (3pm BST, 7.30pm IST) on Friday, September 24, 2021.
The two sides will meet at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah.
After eight matches, Chennai Super Kings and RCB sit second and third in the table, respectively, and are separated by just two points. However, their form is wildly different.
The Super Kings have lost just once since round one (a four-wicket defeat to Mumbai Indians in round seven) and kickstarted the UAE leg of the IPL with a return to winning ways, defeating Mumbai by 20 runs.
After starting the 2021 competition with four consecutive wins, RCB have lost three of their past four outings. In their most recent match, Virat Kohli's side were bowled out for just 92 by Kolkata Knight Riders as they slipped to a nine-wicket defeat.
In the reverse fixture, Chennai Super Kings won by 69 runs.
Chennai Super Kings are the favourites heading into this match, with Dafabet offering odds of 8/11. Royal Challengers Bangalore are available at 11/10.
Dafabet are backing Virat Kohli to top-score for RCB, offering odds of 21/10, while AB de Villiers is available at 13/5 and both Devdutt Paddikal and Glenn Maxwell at 3/1. Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad are available at 5/2 for CSK.
Dwayne Bravo, Moeen Ali and Deepak Chahar all impressed with the ball against Mumbai Indians while Ruturaj Gaikwad's 58-ball 88 - his third 50+ knock of the season - was far and away the best batting performance on either side. However, the player to watch in CSK's squad is Ravindra Jadeja. Ranked 27th on the T20 Player Index, the India international is a triple-threat: an explosive batter, a talented slow left-arm spinner and a dynamite fielder. And while he didn't have a great day against Mumbai, Jadeja has 157 runs at a strike rate of 137.71, six wickets, and an economy of 6.96 in the 2021 tournament. Impressive.
For RCB, Wanindu Hasaranga is an exciting talent. Signed as a replacement for Adam Zampa, the 24-year-old spinner from Sri Lanka has 83 T20 wickets in 64 appearances, including best figures of 5 for 26, and an economy of 6.43. His debut against KKR was disappointing (0 for 20 off two overs) but Hasaranga's talent promises much more.
With the bat, Glenn Maxwell is RCB's leading run-scorer, with 233 runs at a strike rate of 136.25.
Sam Curran is available for Chennai after completing his six-day quarantine period. However, after Chennai's convincing win over Mumbai Indians, he may not be an automatic pick to face RCB.
Royal Challengers Bangalore are without Washington Sundar (finger) for the UAE leg, with the Indian international replaced by Akash Deep. George Garton remains in quarantine.
Otherwise, both teams are expected to be full strength.
The two teams have played each other 27 times.
Chennai Super Kings wins: 17
Royal Challengers Bangalore wins: 9
No result: 1
Sweltering hot conditions are forecast for Sharjah, with temperatures expected to peak at 40 degrees Celsius.
Follow the Met Office forecast here.
Yes, a limited number of fans are allowed to attend games during the IPL's UAE leg.
CSK have form while RCB were very poor against Kolkata Knight Riders. Chennai Super Kings win.
IPL TEAM GUIDES
Sky Sports have the rights in the United Kingdom.
You can aso stream the tournament using the Disney+ Hotstar digital platform, though the matches are only available for VIP or Premium subscribers.
Star Sports have the television rights in India.
Streaming service YuppTV have acquired digital streaming rights in a host of markets, including Australia, continental Europe, Malaysia, Southeast Asia with the exception of Singapore, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, Central Asia, and Central and South America.
In the USA, the games will be broadcast on Willow TV and the Willow TV website. Fox Sports have the broadcasting rights in Australia, while Supersport will televise the games in South Africa. In the Caribbean, Flow TV have the rights.
The following broadcasters owning the rights for their respective regions:
Bangladesh: Channel 9
Afghanistan: Lemar TV
Malaysia: Measat
MENA/UAE: BeIN Sport
Hong Kong: Now TV
Singapore: SingTel
New Zealand: Sky Sport
Papua New Guinea: EMTV
Chennai Super Kings squad: Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Narayan Jagadeesabn, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KM Asif, Karn Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chahar, Faf du Plessis, Shardul Thakur, Mitchell Santner, Dwayne Bravo, Lungi Ngidi, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Imran Tahir, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, K Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, M.Harisankar Reddy, K.Bhagath Varma, C Hari Nishaanth, R Sai Kishore, Josh Hazlewood
Royal Challengers Bangalore squad: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Yuzvendra Chahal, Devdutt Padikkal, Harshal Patel, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pavan Deshpande, Glenn Maxwell, Sachin Baby, Rajat Patidar, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Kyle Jamieson, Dan Christian, Suyesh Prabhudessai, KS Bharat, Tim David, Dushmantha Chameera, Wanindu Hasaranga, George Garton
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du plessis, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Reina, MS Dhoni, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Sachin Baby, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammad Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
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