In the clash of former champions the mighty Chennai Super Kings (CSK) take on the resurgent Rajasthan Royals (RR) as MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl first in their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at the Chepauk Stadium on Wednesday (April 12).
The match has marked Dhoni's 200th match as a captain for CSK.
"It will be slightly on the slower side," Dhoni says. "There could be dew around. Feels good [to lead for 200th time]. The crowd was fantastic. The new stadium is like playing in Switzerland. We have seen cricket change. Feels good to have survived for so long and it's a format we have to keep evolving. Important to get rid of mistakes in the later stages. A few changes - Santner and Pretorius make way for Moeen and Theekshana," CSK skipper Dhoni said after winning the toss.
"We would have liked to bat first," says Samson. "Important to keep up the momentum. Always a pleasure to come to Chepauk and play against CSK and Mahi bhai. A few changes with the impact rule - Boult misses out because of a niggle," RR captain Sanju Samson said after the toss.
Follow the CSK vs RR's live scores here
Talking about the head-to-head clash, CSK have the upperhand on the Men in Purple. However, RR have emerged as the most dominant team going by the last five encounters in chich they have defeated CSK four times in IPL.
CSK vs RR head-to-head in IPL:
Matches Played - 27
Matches won by Chennai Super Kings - 15
Matches won by Rajasthan Royals - 12
Matches with No Result - 0
Matches Tied - 0
Pitch Report
“Lots of cracks, not a lot of grass. The surface is firm enough here but fully expect the spinners and cutters to play a major role in this type of surface. The way the openers approach the game in the powerplay can have an impact on the game. In the middle overs, the spinners will come into play. In the game against LSG, the spinners extracted good turn. It is going to turn and there will be a bit of bounce too. The key will be to bowl in the right lengths, on the 5-6 metres area,” Nick Knight analyses the pitch.
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson(w/c), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jason Holder, Kuldeep Sen, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Subs: Riyan Parag, Donavon Ferreira, KM Asif, Adam Zampa, Joe Root
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w/c), Sisanda Magala, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Singh.
Subs: Ambati Rayudu, Mitchell Santner, Subhranshu Senapati, Shaik Rasheed, RS Hangargekar
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