Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Chennai Super Kings IPL 2024 prediction: Match win, Dream11 and toss

• Match Prediction: Chennai Super Kings to win
• Toss prediction: Chennai Super Kings to win the toss and field first

Here is our RCB vs CSK prediction for the 68th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 between Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Chennai Super Kings in what would be a virtual quarterfinal at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday, May 18.

Read on for our detailed RCB vs CSK predictions ahead of this match.

• Date and time: May 18, 7:30 PM IST
• Venue: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

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Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Chennai Super Kings match preview

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Royal Challengers Bengaluru have had a remarkable turnaround in IPL 2024 after losing seven of their first eight games. They remain in the play-off hunt with 12 points from 13 games and a net run-rate of 0.387. RCB needs to win this game by 18 runs or chase in 18.1 overs to reach the playoffs.

RCB, who have won five games in a row, are coming off a 47-run win over Delhi Capitals in their previous game. Rajat Patidar smashed 52 off 32 and Will Jacks added 41 in 29 balls while Cameron Green also scored 32 not-out as they posted 187. Yash Dayal then snared 3 for 20 with Lockie Ferguson picking 2 for 23 to hold off the opponents.

RCB possible XI: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Swapnil Singh, Karn Sharma, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal

Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings are in a pretty decent spot in IPL 2024, with a win or a narrow defeat taking them through to the playoffs. They have 14 points and a good NRR of 0.528. In the previous game, CSK defeated Rajasthan Royals by five wickets at the Chepauk.  

Bowling first, CSK bowlers did an outstanding job to keep a lid on the scoring rate. Simarjeet Singh was the star of the day with 3 for 26 in his four overs while Tushar Deshpande snared 2 for 30 as they restricted RR to 141. The run-chase wasn't a smooth ride as they had to dig deep. Rachin Ravindra hit 27 off 18 at the top while Sameer Rizvi struck 15* off 8 down the order. Ruturaj Gaikwad held the innings together and scored 42 not-out in 41 deliveries. 

CSK possible XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Simarjeet Singh, Maheesh Theekshana 

Pitch and expected weather conditions

M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru generally produces pretty good pitches for batting with little to no help for bowlers. Short boundaries further aid the batters in playing big shots. The average first innings score at this venue in this IPL season reads 193 from six games. 

The weather in Bengaluru is expected to be cloudy on Saturday evening with a possibility of thunderstorms in some parts. Rain could play some role in the match with a 47% chance of precipitation. The temperature should range between 20-24 degree Celsius.

RCB vs CSK Dream11 prediction

Our RCB vs CSK Dream11 prediction for this match

• Wicketkeeper(s): Dinesh Karthik 
• Batter(s): Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Shivam Dube, Rajat Patidar, Rachin Ravindra 
• All-rounder(s): Ravindra Jadeja, Cameron Green 
• Bowler(s): Yash Dayal, Tushar Deshpande  
• Recommended captain: Virat Kohli 
• Recommended vice-captain: Ravindra Jadeja 

In this part of the RCB vs CSK match prediction, we will shed some light on why we have picked the above XI for the Dream11 contest. Considering the batting-friendly nature of the venue, we have packed the XI with batters and all-rounders. 

Among wicket-keepers, both Dinesh Karthik and MS Dhoni bat down the order but we have picked the former for his volume of runs this season. In the batting section, we have Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Rajat Patidar from the RCB camp and Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube and Rachin Ravindra from CSK. Leaving out any of these could be a costly mistake.

From the all-rounders section, we have picked Ravindra Jadeja and Cameron Green while leaving out Glenn Maxwell who has been in poor form. Moving on to the bowlers, we have gone with Yash Dayal and Tushar Deshpande who have been pretty good for their respective team. 

As for the captain, Virat Kohli is the most popular choice, having scored over 600 runs in the season and we have chosen him only. Ravindra Jadeja as a VC could be a great choice as his all-round value will be crucial in this game. 

Match prediction: Chennai Super Kings to win

The head to head record between these two rivals is heavily in favour of Chennai Super Kings, who have 22 games as opposed to just 10 by Bengaluru. Talking about this clash, RCB are coming on the back of great form but CSK have the tools to stop their winning streak. RCB will be slightly depleted due to Will Jacks’ unavailability and their batting unit of mostly right hand batters face a big threat from Ravindra Jadeja and possibly Mitchell Santner. Our match prediction is for Chennai Super Kings to win. 

Toss prediction: Chennai Super Kings to win the toss and field first

Looking at the data, M Chinnaswamy Stadium is a venue where the team batting second has fared better in the shorter format. Teams generally look to chase here as short boundaries and a possibility of dew makes defending runs a tough job. In overall T20 cricket, the team batting second has won 55% of the matches played here. Our toss prediction is that Chennai Super Kings will win the toss and opt to field first. 

Man of the match prediction: Ravindra Jadeja 

The left-arm orthodox spinner will have a big role to play in this game as RCB have a batting unit comprising mostly right-hand batters. Ravindra Jadeja has taken 8 wickets with the ball this season at an economy of 7.47, with the best of 3 for 18. He has also made contributions with the bat in this tournament, with 225 runs at an average of 37 and strike rate of 136.

Betting Odds

• Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 1.82 (PARIMATCH)
• Chennai Super Kings: 1.99 (PARIMATCH)

According to the bookmakers, Royal Challengers Bengaluru are favourites to win this encounter on Saturday night. RCB have 1.82 odds of winning this game while CSK have slightly bigger odds at 1.99.