Chennai Super Kings (CSK) lock horns with rivals Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the opening match of the Indian Premier League 2024 on Friday, March 21, 2024.
Defending champions CSK are set to enter the game with a newly-appointed leader Ruturaj Gaikwad who replaced the legendary MS Dhoni on Thursday. RCB will be boosted by the return of veteran Virat Kohli who missed India’s recent Test series against England due to personal reasons.
Apart from the obvious Dhoni vs Kohli clash, the fans will be excited to see overseas stars Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Alzarri Joeseph and Cameron Green making debuts for their respective franchises.
Chennai Super Kings have won four of their last five IPL encounters against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, including an 8-run win while defending 226 runs in the latest game and are favourites to win the opener due to home advantage.
MA Chidambaram, Chennai Pitch Report
Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium famously offers a good surface for the spinners but the pitch has produced balanced games in T20 cricket lately. The Pacers dominated in the recent Ranji Trophy fixture at this venue but the report suggests that the centre pitch will be used for the IPL 2024 opener, which offers plenty of turn to spin bowlers.
MA Chidambaram, Chennai T20I numbers
Total T20I Matches: 6
Matches won batting first: 5
Matches won bowling first: 1
Average first innings score: 150
Average second innings score: 119
Highest total scored: 182/4 (20 Ov) by India vs West Indies
Highest score chased: 182/4 (20 Ov) by India vs West Indies
Lowest total recorded: 80/10 (17.5 Ov) by Pakistan women vs England women
Lowest total defended: 103/8 (20 Ov) by West Indies women vs Pakistan women
CSK vs RCB probable playing XIs:
Chennai Super Kings predicted playing XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Maheesh Theekshana.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru predicted playing XI: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Alzarri Joseph, Mayank Dagar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj.