Match 62 of the 2025 Indian Premier League season brings us a clash between two teams rooted at the foot of the table, with MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings hosting Sanju Samson’s Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on May 20.
For the game, here are our preview and predictions.
Indian Premier League 2025 | Match 62: Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals | 19:30 IST, May 20
This contest holds no significance in terms of the playoffs, though both teams will want to work towards their rebuilding processes, with CSK looking to transform from a “dad’s army” to a young brigade. While this is the Royals’ last game of the season, they have nothing to savour except the emergence of Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who has forced the cricketing world to take notice with his fearless batting.
Before the IPL was brought to a halt due to the border tensions between India and Pakistan, CSK had started finding some groove thanks to their young players. Some of their overseas players also delivered fighting performances against the Punjab Kings and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru before the team finally registered their third win of the season against the Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens.
Rookie operators Ayush Mhatre and Urvil Patel have grabbed their opportunities with both hands, while the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, and Dewald Brevis have chipped in with crucial contributions of late. The CSK bowling department, for large parts, has failed to do its job. Afghan mystery spinner Noor Ahmad leads the wickets column with 20, while Khaleel Ahmed (14) and Matheesha Pathirana (12) are the only other CSK bowlers to reach double digits.
Given that the likes of Jamie Overton, Sam Curran, Rachin Ravindra, and Nathan Ellis have opted to not return for the last leg of the tournament, the Super Kings are likely to continue giving chances to youngsters in the remaining games.
The Rajasthan Royals, on the other hand, only have themselves to blame for how their season has panned out. A lack of depth in key areas, over-reliance on their top order and Indian core, a misfiring middle order, poor bowler selection during the mega auction, and an equally underwhelming fielding setup have all contributed to their downfall this season.
That said, Yashasvi Jaiswal has been in scintillating form this season and is currently third in the Orange Cap race with 523 runs. There has been support from the likes of Riyan Parag (390) and Dhruv Jurel (302), but it has been sporadic at best. The middle order has failed to close out games from winning situations far too often—including the last game at home against the Punjab Kings.
Furthermore, their sluggishness in the field and toothless bowling attack make this one of the worst RR teams in years. Their highest wicket-taker this season is Maheesh Theekshana with 11 wickets, while the Purple Cap leader has 21 scalps. The Indian contingent of Sandeep Sharma (9), Tushar Deshpande (8), and Akash Madhwal (1) has collectively failed to deliver.
Looking ahead to this game at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, RR secured a six-run victory in Guwahati in the reserve fixture to pick up their first win of the season. However, both protagonists from that game (Nitish Rana and Jofra Archer) will not be playing this time due to injury. Besides, Sandeep Sharma’s injury means they are haemorrhaging runs at the back end even more.
Moreover, the current CSK batting lineup is more aggressive and instinctive than the one RR beat in March, while their bowling attack appears stronger on paper despite key overseas players pulling out of the tournament. Thus, we give CSK the edge in this encounter.
Fantasy XI: Dhruv Jurel, Ayush Mhatre (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal (c), Sanju Samson, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, Ravindra Jadeja, Noor Ahmad, Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande
Venue: Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
Winners Prediction: Chennai Super Kings
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