Bangalore vs Chennai, 35th Match - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Kohli: The wicket looks nice and hard. Don't think it'll change a lot. A few more runs would be nice. It's a wake-up call, you still have to come out here and gain momentum again. We have brought in Navdeep Saini for Sachin Baby. We needed more pace in the middle overs. Kyle Jamieson misses out and Tim David replaces him.

Teams:

Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Virat Kohli(c), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat(w), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Tim David, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood

Dhoni: We'll bowl first. There are a few wet patches, but it has dried out slightly. It's a small ground and there was dew the last time we played. Same team. It was an incredible team effort. To reach around 160, it was a special performance by the bat. The bowlers needed get into action and we kept getting wickets. We played really well to get back in. He (Gaekwad) has been incredible, he plays authentic cricket shots. I just hopes he keeps doing the same.

Chennai Super Kings have won the toss and have opted to field

17:54 Local Time, 13:54 GMT, 19:24 IST: We have an update! Toss at 19:30 IST. Play to start at 19:45 IST.

Selva: "Sharjah Sandstorm" - such a key trigger word to take us back to the blitzkrieg by the Master

Nisarg K Raj: Sandstorm seems like the perfect omen before this power packed tussle! Big game for both teams. RCB has to try and get some momentum while CSK needs a solid all round performance after that jittery win.

17:40 Local Time, 13:40 GMT, 19:10 IST: As Dhoni and Kohli continue to talk, the flip of the coin has been further delayed. "Next inspection at 5:55 PM (Local Time) & 07.25 PM IST," is the latest tweet-update from IPL.

17:29 Local Time, 13:29 GMT, 18:59 IST: Toss has been delayed by 10 minutes. It's the famous Sharjah sandstorm! The umpires, match referee - Javagal Srinath - and the two captains are having a chat out in the middle.

Mohammad Siraj: I just had one plan in England - since I was the third pacer, I just looked to build pressure and bowl maidens to help the guys bowling from the other end. Line and length will remain the same here in T20s as well. In the death, I have practiced the yorkers and the slower ones in the nets here. Saini, Jamieson and me discuss a lot about what is happening off the wicket. I like this responsibility and I feel proud. I just look to get wickets with the new ball. Ruturaj has been batting brilliantly and I'll look to get two wickets with the new ball and put pressure on CSK.

Josh Hazlewood: Felt okay (previous match), a little bit inconsistent but I felt I fought back well throughout the game. I think it was due to lack of matches in the last six weeks, good to get one under the belt and looking forward to today. Probably hope for the best here (Sharjah), it's obviously a smaller ground, lots of sixes and fours hit but that can work in your favour if you protect and bowl well. My role is a bit different here at Chennai than it is for Australia. I bowl a lot upfront for Australia, it's probably mixed overs here throughout the 20 overs. Hell of a win, hopefully we get off to a better start today.

Glenn Maxwell, Royal Challengers Bangalore - Probably need to make more runs, need to string together a few partnerships and take it from there, hopefully the last game was just a blip. I like to hit a few balls in the nets, have a run-out, catch a few balls and get used to the surroundings, keep myself as comfortable as I can. Not a lot has changed over the years, I have reached that stage where I can make my notes ahead of the game. Just adjust to the situation, read the situation, take a few balls and then play the way I know. That has been my usual routine over the years.

Pitch Report | Kevin Pietersen: There were 220 sixes hit last year (at Sharjah) However, this wicket is patchy, you are not going to get the normal sheen. I actually think you should have a bowl here, just to see exactly how the wicket is going to play tonight.

They might be separated by just two points but the two sides had contrasting starts to their respective UAE-leg campaigns. While the Super Kings recovered from 24/4 (effectively 24/5) to beat the defending champions, the Royal Challengers got skittled out for a paltry 92 (from 41/1) against a team that was at the bottom part of the points table. For those who believe in momentum, it's definitely with the three-time champions. Dhoni hardly tinkers with the team combination and its probability further decreases following a win. Kohli, on the contrary, hardly fields the same XI for back-to-back games. "Bit of a wake-up call and might as well have this at the start of the second leg so that we know exactly what we need to work on," were his words immediately after the embarrassing loss against KKR. Surely, RCB's performance can only get better. Sharjah is the smallest of the three stadiums and it's usually batting-friendly. With quality batters in both the camps .... good luck, bowlers!

16:45 Local Time, 18:15 IST: Whistle Podu vs Play Bold | Jadeja vs Maxwell | Faf vs AB | Former Indian captain vs Current Indian captain | Newly-appointed mentor vs Stepping down captain | Dhoni vs Kohli | | CSK vs RCB | #2 vs #3. Hello everyone! Sharjah is all set to host the South Indian derby. The head-to-head record is 17-9 in favour of Chennai, but whenever these two teams lock horns against each other, expect a blockbuster!

The Overview:

"A bit of a wake-up call" was how Virat Kohli described Royal Challengers Bangalore's insipid first game back in IPL 2021. With five wins from eight, Kohli's side is still securely placed in the top-half of the standings but a NRR of -0.706 could bear a sinister ring if his team can't get on the board in the second half quickly enough.

Standing in RCB's way at Sharjah is a familiar, clad-in-yellow adversary, responsible for many an old scar and also a new one that nudged the aforementioned run-rate into a tailspin. Chennai Super Kings matched RCB with a dysfunctional start with the bat in their own return game but unlike their next opponents, found at least one batter - Ruturaj Gaikwad - to first, arrest the momentum, and then provide the thrust that the bowlers could carry for a win.

The challenge for both sides at Sharjah, the smallest of the three venues in the competition, would be to maximise their batting resources across 20 overs. It fits closely into the CSK playbook of 2021 that has seen MS Dhoni's men use their enviable batting depth and shed their usual conservative approach. Despite being overmatched in quantity, RCB possess enough quality to provide the perfect tonic to set their promising campaign on the road again.

When: RCB vs CSK, September 24, 2021, 19:30 IST

Where: Sharjah Cricket Stadium

What to expect: At the start of the 2020 season, Sharjah was the proverbial bowlers' graveyard with its true surface and minuscule boundary distances. Seven of the first eight innings here witnessed scores of 200 or more. Five of the first six games were won by teams batting first. While CSK experienced it first-hand against Sanju Samson & Co, the pitch had slowed down significantly in the second half when RCB played their three games here.

Head To Head: CSK 17-9 RCB. CSK have also won 9 of the last 11 encounters between the teams. The last clash between the sides at the Wankhede Stadium was a Ravindra Jadeja one-man show. He plundered 62* off 28 including 37 off a Harshal Patel over, took 3 for 13 with the ball and even effected a run-out.

Team Watch:

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Injured/Availability: Left-arm pacer George Garton is still in quarantine and will not be available for selection.

Tactics & Matchups:

Navdeep Saini played just the one match in the India leg of the tournament, against CSK. As Adam Milne & Mumbai Indians showed, there maybe some pace vulnerability in this CSK side setup to destroy spin. Saini could also provide death-bowling insurance on a ground that'll need it. On the batting front, RCB will be better served by using Tim David's explosive finishing to ease the pressure on the middle-order.

Probable XI: Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, KS Bharat (wk), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Tim David/Wanindu Hasaranga, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini

Chennai Super Kings

Injuries/Availability: Sam Curran is available for selection once more after serving his six-day quarantine. CSK are expected to have a clean bill of health for the game after Stephen Fleming, CSK's head coach, confirmed that the blow Ambati Rayudu had copped to the forearm had only caused a bad bruising and not a bone break. It remains to be seen if he's cleared to play.

Tactics & Matchups:

While Curran may be available for selection, CSK are likely to persist with Dwayne Bravo, who (when fit) offers relatively better death-bowling pedigree besides hitting abilities that are once again on the rise. Expect to see Jadeja used against Glenn Maxwell, a player the left-arm spinner has dismissed five times in 36 balls in the IPL.

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

Did you know?

- Harshal Patel has dismissed Faf du Plessis twice in 13 balls and Ambati Rayudu four times in 36 balls in the IPL

- Virat Kohli's 151 runs off 98 deliveries from Dwayne Bravo is the most runs off a bowler in IPL without ever being dismissed.

- MS Dhoni has scored 824 runs at 141.50 against RCB, the most he's scored against a single franchise in the IPL.

What they said:

"As professional cricketers, you are expected to turn up and adjust to the formats, that's the dynamic of world cricket today. We have never found any trouble doing that but sometimes it can take you a game to get into the tournament." - Virat Kohli on the challenges of a densely-packed schedule and its impact on a slow start vs KKR.

Squads:

Chennai Super Kings Squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood, Sam Curran, Robin Uthappa, Cheteshwar Pujara, Karn Sharma, Imran Tahir, Jason Behrendorff, Krishnappa Gowtham, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Hari Nishanth, N Jagadeesan, KM Asif, Harishankar Reddy, Bhagath Varma

Royal Challengers Bangalore Squad: Virat Kohli(c), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat(w), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, Sachin Baby, Daniel Christian, Dushmantha Chameera, Pavan Deshpande, Rajat Patidar, Mohammed Azharuddeen, George Garton, Suyash Prabhudessai, Tim David, Shahbaz Ahmed, Akash Deep