Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals will look for the win that will as good as assure them of a playoff spot when the two teams clash in IPL 2015 on Sunday.
CSK saw a bit of wind taken from their sails when suffered their first home defeat this season at the hands of Mumbai Indians, and MS Dhoni's men will be keen to bounce back.
RR will also look for the same having fallen to the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Rajasthan franchise's designated home turf of the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. The Royals have struggled for a bit of momentum after their fast start to IPL 2015, when they won five straight matches, and the team will know the importance of momentum with the business end of the season looming large.
"I don't think we bowled as well as we could have in the last couple of games," said RR fast bowler Tim Southee. "But we did bowl well at the start of the tournament and so we are capable of it. We were a bit off in the last couple of games but I am sure the guys will work on it and turn up with a good performance [against CSK].
"The two washouts were not ideal, but you cannot control the weather. There were a couple of games that we probably should have won. But, we did get a couple of wins early on in the tournament even though we didn't play our best cricket. We still have two more games that we hope to win and continue the tournament all the way to the final."
The Royals have played the most matches so far in 12, and with just two games remaining, they can ill-afford to take their qualification hopes all the way to the last game. The last time they did just that, they were stunned by the Mumbai Indians, and Shane Watson and his men will be aware of the pitfalls of leaving it too late.
RR eased to victory over CSK the last time these two teams met, with the Royals picking up an eight-wicket win with 10 balls to spare. CSK will want to put that record straight as well as get back to winning ways at home, so RR can expect a tough encounter in the hot and humid Chennai.
"We had one of our best games the last time we played CSK and they will be hungry to turn it around this time," added Southee. "We know they are tough in their own conditions and they will be tougher coming after a loss. But, we have the skills in our team to counter that and we have come here to win."
Where to Watch Live
The match between the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals is scheduled for an 8 pm IST (3.30 pm BST, 10.30 am ET) start with live coverage in India on Sony Max (Hindi), Sony Kix (Tamil and Telugu), Sony Aath (Bengali) and Sony Six (English). India viewers can also catch the match via live streaming online on Starsports online and Hotstar.
Audience in the US can watch the IPL 2015 action live on ESPN, while the game can also be live streamed on ESPN Cricket. Viewers in the UK can catch the match live on Sky Sports, while the live stream option is on Watch Sky Sports and Sky Go. Viewers across the world can watch CSK vs RR Live on Cricketgateway.com.
