Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ayush Mhatre, Devon Conway, Urvil Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni(w/c), Anshul Kamboj, Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kwena Maphaka, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Madhwal

MS Dhoni: We want to express ourselves in our batting department.

Rajasthan Royals have won the toss and have opted to field

Sanju Samson: We will bowl first. Looking at the last game against DC, there was something in it. There's no hiding in this game. We got to do it today. Everyone has to be a match-winner.

Rajasthan Royals have won the toss and have opted to field

The two skippers are walking out in the middle and it's toss time..

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Dewald Brevis: It (jet-lag) is not too bad, I have had enough rest and I am ready to go. I have really enjoyed to be a part of this team, I think we have played great cricket throughout the competition and I think we are moulding into the right direction. Was fun to play some of those knocks. Need to relax, be yourself and back your ability, everyone out here have got unique skills. We need to go out there and enjoy ourselves. I am super excited (for today's match), the wicket feels good. It's going to be lots of fun. We'll give our best out there and hopefully it's a 'W'.

Pitch report | Simon Doull, Graeme Swann: Looks a magnificent surface. The square boundaries are 63m each, while it's 72m down the ground. The other day we thought the wicket might spin. We were completely wrong. There's slight bit of friction around the good length area, it's a bit rough. It didn't spin much the other day, proved to be a belter to bat on. Slight bit of grass and a few tiny cracks. This pitch will be very similar to what we saw two nights ago, very good wicket to bat on.

The multiple botched chases from RR also didn't help their case. Hetmyer and co. in the middle and lower middle order for sure didn't cover themselves in glory and that has hampered them big time. CSK at first invested in Rachin and Tripathi, Gaikwad got injured and the string of losses just threw their campaign off track as they seemed a jaded unit. Their bowling also looked toothless as veterans Ashwin and Jadeja suffered the ire of batters in most games. For RR, Archer did shine through but hasn't helped them much. Stay around for the toss and teams..

18:30 Local Time, 13:00 GMT, 18:30 IST: It is a battle to avoid the wooden spoon. It is RR taking on CSK. Both teams have 6 points and a loss here for either will almost confirm the last spot which of course reeks of embarrassment. RR opted for an Indian batting line-up and their stocks fell drastically in this edition. CSK went for their tried and tested formula but also came a cropper. CSK have now started investing in the future. And RR have unearthed Vaibhav Suryavanshi on their part.

Preview

It's been quite a while since the IPL 2025 campaigns of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals fizzled out, the hope of playoffs qualification dashed, and all the worries that had accumulated in the run-up to that elimination have now dwindled.

Whether the two sides will look to play carefree cricket or experiment with a focus on the next season remains uncertain. But when the two teams take on each other on a neutral ground, Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium, interests would be limited to who will take the wooden spoon this season at the end of the contest, with neither likely to be too keen for it.

The campaign has run two different courses for Royals and CSK. While the former would rue missing as many as four chances of victory, when almost all of those looked in sight, CSK have been a pale shadow of their glory days, enduring arguably their worst campaign in 18 seasons.

Even as the incentives as a team might be low heading to the fag end of their campaigns, there would be enough to encourage individuals from both sides to leave strong impressions, and that could well be the interesting attraction for an otherwise dead-rubber.

When: Tuesday, May 20, 7:30 PM IST

Where: Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals, Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi

What to expect: On Sunday, a target of 200 was chased down comfortably at the venue by Gujarat Titans. On a different track though, there could be some challenges. However, like most games at the venue, a conventional but aggressive batting approach still holds value.

Head to head: Historically, CSK have had a 16-14 edge over RR. But since 2020, Royals have won 7 out of the 9 games between the two sides.

Team Watch:

Chennai Super Kings:

Injuries/Unavailability: The English duo of Sam Curran and Jamie Overton haven't returned to India following the suspension of the IPL.

Tactics & Matchups: Sanju Samson has struggled to score at a brisk pace against the spin duo of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Even on a small ground, the spinning duo could pose some challenge to the Royals' skipper.

Probable XII: Ayush Mhatre, Devon Conway, Urvil Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni, R Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Nathan Ellis/Matheesha Pathirana

Rajasthan Royals

Injuries/Unavailability: No new updates on the Royals' squad since their last game against Punjab Kings on Sunday

Tactics & Matchups: Ravindra Jadeja, who has struck at 145.83 since being promoted to No. 4, has struggled against spinners in recent years. Jadeja strikes at only 102.9 against spin since 2020. Despite Royals' spin department having been toothless this season, Riyan Parag's offbreaks could prove handy against the southpaw.

Probable XII: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kwena Maphaka, Tushar Deshpande, Kumar Kartikeya, Nandre Burger, Ashok Sharma/Shubham Dubey

Did you know?

Ravindra Jadeja has averaged 58.33 with the bat (and striking at 145.83) since being promoted to No. 4

Nathan Ellis has dismissed Sanju Samson twice in 11 balls, and conceded only 12 runs against him

This season, Rajasthan Royals have lost 8 (including the Super Over loss) out of their 9 games in which they were chasing. No team in IPL history has lost more games while chasing

Fazalhaq Farooqi is yet to take a wicket in this year's IPL

Squads:

Rajasthan Royals Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kwena Maphaka, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Madhwal, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Shubham Dubey, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Kumar Kartikeya, Ashok Sharma, Kunal Singh Rathore, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Maheesh Theekshana, Lhuan-dre Pretorius

Chennai Super Kings Squad: Ayush Mhatre, Devon Conway, Urvil Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, MS Dhoni(w/c), Anshul Kamboj, Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana, Shivam Dube, Deepak Hooda, Jamie Overton, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tripathi, Shreyas Gopal, Sam Curran, Rachin Ravindra, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Shaik Rasheed, Andre Siddarth C