Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as Faf Du Plessis won the toss and elected to bat first in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 opener at the Chepauk stadium on March 22, Friday. Newly recruited CSK Ruturaj captain included Sameer Rizvi into CSK's playing XI. Notably Rizvi was acquired by CSK for Rs 8.4 crore in IPL 2024 auction. Meanwhile, Shivam Dube sat out of Chennai's final XI. However, he might come in as CSk's impact player.
What do the captains say after the toss?
After the toss CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad said:
“Feel privileged. But I want to try and be in my shoes, not fill anybody's shoes. (On captaincy) I got to know last week, but Mahi bhai hinted at it last year. Everyone is experienced here, sadly we are missing Conway and Pathirana. We've got Rachin and Mitchell coming in though this year so they should fit in well. Looks like a good pitch, a hard surface that should hold up well for the second innings. Four overseas - Mitchell, Rachin, Fizz and Theekshana. The domestic player Sameer Rizvi is making his debut as well.”
Meanwhile, Faf du Plessis said:
“We'll bat first. Looks a good wicket, conditions here are a bat first wicket. First time back here, great to see the Chennai fans again but I'm here with RCB and hopefully we can turn over a very good CSK team. Prep has been good, we need to turn up now. (On coach Andy Flower) A seasoned campaigner, brings that experience. (On auction) Really good, our bowling resources fit well. Got more backup. Hopefully, injuires don't bother us too much. (On team combination) Alzarri Joseph comes in tonight, got a few spinners in the middle. And since we are batting first, we'll see how it goes.”
Chennai Super Kings' Playing XI
Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Ravindra Jadeja, Sameer Rizvi, MS Dhoni(w), Deepak Chahar, Maheesh Theekshana, Mustafizur Rahman, Tushar Deshpande.
CSK Impact Players: Shaik Rasheed, Nishant Sindhu, Moeen Ali, Shardul Thakur, and Shivam Dube
Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Playing XI
Faf du Plessis(c), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat(w), Karn Sharma, Alzarri Joseph, Mayank Dagar, Mohammed Siraj.
RCB Impact Players: Yash Dayal, Suyash Prabhudessai, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, and Swapnil Singh
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CSK vs RCB's Head-to-Head
The historical rivalry between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) heavily favors CSK. In their 31 head-to-head encounters, CSK has emerged victorious a whopping 20 times, with only one match ending without a result. RCB, on the other hand, has only managed to win 10 matches against the dominant "yellow brigade.
Pitch Report
“The square boundaries are 65m and 6m respectively and the straight boundary is long at 80m. It looks a great wicket, but there are a few cracks and the looseness around the cracks is worrying, it could lead to some inconsistent bounce, but it's generally looking good. The ball will turn, there's some dampness and the spinners could use that. Dew could be a factor, the captain winning the toss would want to bowl first,” Kevin Pietersen and Brian Lara analysed the pitch.
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