The Chennai Super Kings gear up to battle the Rajasthan Royals for the 11th game of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) happening on Sunday in Guwahati. The Royals kicked off their season on a rough note losing both their first games. The Super Kings started off strong with a victory over Mumbai Indians to face defeat by their fierce competitors RCB at Chepauk marking just their second loss there against the Challengers. We’re eyeing the clash between these two major teams (and past IPL champs), the key players and match-ups to monitor, the significant statistics highlighting various play stages and speculations on who’s most likely to nab the win in this supercharged showdown.

The game’s location is Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati. They faced off in 29 games where Chennai Super Kings triumphed in 16 and Rajasthan Royals snagged 13 victories.

Chennai Super Kings’ Team Kickoff

This year, seasoned experts like R Ashwin, Sam Curran, and Vijay Shankar are making a comeback to Chennai Super Kings. Breaking away from the norm, they’ve shelled out a hefty INR 10 crore on Afghan wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad. He’s teaming up with Ashwin and Jadeja to build a tough spin force set to excel under helpful playing conditions.

Chennai Super Kings might struggle with rapid bowling this season, which could turn into their weak spot. They’ve kept Matheesha Pathirana and brought in Khaleel Ahmed, Sam Curran, Nathan Ellis, and Mukesh Choudhary, but how well these guys do hinges on their skill to switch it up depending on the pitch. Yet when you look at the stats, the fast bowling squad doesn’t seem all that tough.

Likely Starting Lineup

1. Rachin Ravindra takes the field.
2. Rahul Tripathi steps up.
3. Ruturaj Gaikwad gets ready.
4. Shivam Dube swings into action.
5. Sam Curran joins the fray.
6. Deepak Hooda gears up.
7. Ravindra Jadeja prepares for play.
8. MS Dhoni enters the game.
9. R Ashwin takes his place.
10. Noor Ahmad makes an appearance.
11. Matheesha Pathirana is in position.
12. Khaleel Ahmed marks his spot (Impact Player).

Introducing Team RR’s second lineup.

Rajasthan Royals remains one of the most popular franchises in the IPL, with a loyal fanbase that continues to support the team through thick and thin. The franchise continues to strive for success, aiming to deliver memorable performances and entertain cricket enthusiasts around the world. The Rajasthan Royals have won the IPL championship one time in 2008 in Shane Warne Captainship.

Rajasthan Royals is a well-balanced team with a blend of experienced and talented players. They have talented & aggressive batsmen like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Nitish Rana, and Dhruv Jurel. They have good all-rounders also like Wanindu Hasaranga and Riyan Parag. Their bowling department is also well-equipped with bowlers like Sandeep Sharma, Akash Madhwal, Kwena Mapakha, Maheesh Theekshna, Fazalhaq Farooqi, and Jofra Archer, adding depth and experience to their bowling lineup.

Sunrisers Hyderabad were the first to beat the Rajasthan Royals in their first match as they defeated them by 33 runs despite good efforts from Dhruv Jurel and Sanju Samson.

Likely Starting Lineup

1. Yashasvi Jaiswal
2. Sanju Samson
3. Riyan Parag
4. Nitish Rana
5. Shimron Hetmyer
6. Dhruv Jurel
7. Shubham Dubey
8. Wanindu Hasaranga
9. Jofra Archer
10. Maheesh Theekshana
11. Tushar Deshpande
12. Sandeep Sharma
13. Get Ready for Surprises

This stadium kicked off the season with a game that proved its pitches aren’t like the usual flat ones at the other league venues. Here, the ball grips the surface giving spinners a good chance to shine for the full 40 overs. Clever fast bowlers also find success on this ground. But don’t think hitters have it tough. With shorter boundaries on the square, they sometimes just smash the ball right out of the park.

In IPL games at this ground, the team that bats first scores 173. The side chasing scores 158 on average. In Guwahati, teams love to chase, with 4 out of 5 IPL toss-winning teams choosing to bowl first. Both the first batting team and the chasing team have grabbed two wins each here.

Quick bowlers snagged 63% of the outs with a strike rate of 18.7, though they did spend a bit at 8.9 runs per over. Spinners keep things tighter, giving up 7.8 runs per over.

Main Dudes to Keep an Eye On?

1. Yashasvi Jaiswal (Rajasthan Royals)

Jaiswal’s big breakthrough this season is still pending, and the Rajasthan Royals need him to set the fireworks off when they start their innings. This lefty’s been the top run-getter for the Rajasthan Royals racking up a total of 1060 runs across 29 trips to the crease. He’s been hitting at almost 40 runs on average and smashes with a striking rate of 160.4 since the year kicked off in 2023. He’s smashed out two humongous hundreds and six hefty half-centuries. During the IPL’s early overs, Jaiswal got a striking rate of 151.5.

2. Maheesh Theekshana (Rajasthan Royals)

The spin wizard from Sri Lanka is gonna be super important when it comes to the powerplay on Guwahati’s slow pitch. Theekshana’s season kick-off wasn’t all that hot – sure, he nailed a couple of key outs versus Sunrisers, but then Knight Riders whacked him for a hefty 52 runs in 4 overs and he couldn’t snag any wickets. With the new ball, Theekshana shines, snagging 10 wickets during the powerplays and holding steady with an 8.4 economy rate in the IPL. His go-to move, the carrom ball, is what scores him the big wins in T20 games.

3. Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals)

Sanju Samson blasted a swift 66 from 37 balls when playing Sunrisers Hyderabad and aims to kick off the Royals’ innings with a bang. In IPL 2024, Samson showed stellar form, racking up 531 runs with a hit rate of 153.5 and notching up five half-centuries. His batting rate of 151.5 in the game’s middle stages from 2020 stands as one of the top in the IPL during those years.

4. Rachin Ravindra (Chennai Super Kings)

Rachin Ravindra showed his skills with a game-winning 65 from 45 balls on Chepauk’s spin-encouraging pitch in the game against Mumbai Indians. He read the situation just right and kept cool even though Chennai Super Kings dropped some wickets pretty fast during the middle overs. He led them to an easy win by four wickets. Knocking 47 runs from 29 balls at a strike rate of 162 against the MI slow bowlers, Ravindra proved he’s super good with the spin. Plus, he was the lone CSK player to put up a fight in their loss to RCB.

5. Noor Ahmed (Chennai Super Kings)

Noor Ahmed showed off his skills as CSK’s top bowler in the season’s first few games. He nailed it with a Player of the Match award against the Mumbai Indians by busting through their lineup and letting 18 runs slip in his 4 overs. Then, facing our big opponents, RCB at Chepauk, Noor snagged another three critical outs. We’re talking about a dude who’s got some serious game in T20 cricket, taking out 154 players in 131 innings, and he does it quick – with a strike rate of 18.6. Plus, his economy rate’s tight at 7.12.