RCB vs CSK Odds, Team News And Betting Tips

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will take on the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for the second time in the 2022 IPL season when they play at Pune on May 4. The first time these two teams played each other in the 2022 IPL, CSK got the better of RCB.

RCB currently have 10 points and are ranked in 5^th place on the IPL points table behind Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) who are also on 10 points. SRH are ahead of RCB due to a superior net run rate. RCB have played 10 games, won 5, and lost 5. It becomes essential for RCB to win their next game against CSK as it will allow them to break into the top four.

CSK have nearly blown their chances of qualifying for the 2022 IPL playoffs as their strategy of suddenly appointing R Jadeja as the new captain did not work well. They decided mid-ways through the tournament to reappoint MS Dhoni as the captain and the impact was immediate as CSK looked like a completely different team in their last outing against the SRH.

CSK ended up winning that game and now have 6 points and are in 9^th place on the IPL points table. CSK have played 9 games, won 3, and lost 6 so far.

We take a look at the betting odds for this game below and our experts share their views on which team they think will win.

Top RCB VS CSK Betting Sites

CSK vs RCB Odds

Bet365 has given RCB the edge in this game and they go in as the favorites with odds of 1.8. CSK are the underdogs with odds of 2.0. Our experts believe that these are fair odds as RCB has definitely looked the better team in the competition so far, even though CSK ended up winning their first encounter.

However, we got to take into consideration that this is a different CSK team with MS Dhoni back as captain. They look a lot more confident and have the momentum of a big win under their belt. RCB on the other hand are struggling as they are coming off three consecutive losses and a fourth loss will really push them back.

We take a look at some of the key factors that will influence the outcome of this game.

CSK vs RCB Match Prediction

RCB definitely have the players and the ability to be able to bounce back and stop their three-match losing streak. However, CSK look a lot hungrier to win with MS Dhoni as their captain and we are going to back CSK to once again get the better of RCB and win.

Here are the factors that will play a huge role in this match:

Captain MS Dhoni

CSK under R Jadeja looked flat and were struggling for confidence. CSK management did a good job in getting MS Dhoni to take back the captaincy mid-season and all of a sudden CSK look a completely different team. The players have more confidence, R Jadeja can concentrate on his performance without bothering about the captaincy and the right changes are being made to bring more balance to the squad.

The Kohli Factor

RCB were doing really well as their captain Faf du Plessis and D Karthik were making big runs but when they fail, RCB have struggled. V Kohli has played poor cricket throughout this IPL season but for the last game against the Gujarat Titans (GT). Kohli was promoted to the top of the order and ended up making 58.

However, those 58 runs came from 53 balls at a strike rate of 109.43 and hurt RCB in the end. Kohli needs to make runs but he needs to score them at a faster pace. RCB will be hoping that the half-century at the top of the order will infuse some confidence into Kohli and he will be able to contribute big runs against CSK.

Right Playing XI

This is going to be critical in determining which team will win. Our experts have called for D Conway and D Pretorius to play for CSK together and they finally heeded that call in the last game and it worked out well for CSK. We expect them to stick to the same playing XI against RCB.

RCB have made some changes in their last game which included promoting Kohli to the top of the order and R Patidar to three, ahead of G Maxwell and D Karthik. RCB will have to read the game and not stick to the same batting line-up, because you want to get your best players to face as many balls as possible.

If they do test the R Patidar strategy again and it fails, they could end up losing.

RCB VS CSK Betting Tips

Here are some of our IPL betting tips for the game:

RCB VS CSK Top Batsman Tip

The three key batters for CSK are their two openers R Gaikwad (3.75), D Conway (4), and then A Rayudu (6.5) while the three heavy hitters for RCB are Faf du Plessis (3.6), Glenn Maxwell (5) and D Karthik (13).

RCB VS CSK Top Bowler Tip

CSK don’t have a great bowling attack and will depend heavily on M Choudhary (4.5), M Theekshana (4.5), and R Jadeja (5.5). The three top bowlers for RCB are going to be J Hazelwood (4), WH de Silva (3.4), and H Patel (4.5).

RCB VS CSK Player of the Match Tip

Our experts believe that this game will be decided by an individual performance rather than a team effort. The three players that can win this game for RCB are V Kohli (8), Faf du Plessis (8), and J Hazelwood (15) while the three match-winners for CSK are going to be R Gaikwad (9), D Conway (9.5) and R Jadeja (15).

RCB VS CSK Projected Playing XI

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (C), V Kohli, R Patidar, G Maxwell, D Karthik, S Ahmed, M Lomror, WH de Silva, H Patel, M Siraj, J Hazelwood.

Chennai Super Kings: R Gaikwad, D Conway, A Rayudu, R Uthappa, MS Dhoni, R Jadeja (C), S Singh, M Santner, D Pretorius, M Choudhary, M Theekshana.

RCB VS CSK Head-To-Head Record

When you look at the head-to-head record between these two sides, CSK have been the superior side. These two teams have played each other 29 times so far in IPL history and CSK have won 19 of those games and RCB just 9, with 1 game ending in a no-result.

CSK won their last outing by 23 runs and based on these stats, should once again be the favorites to win.