After losing their opening games the defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) now lock horns with dented Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) as KL Rahul side won the toss and opted to bowl first in their IPL match on Thursday.
Both the teams will now be looking for winning ways to make their case in the cash-rich league.
As far as playing XIs are concerned, LSG brought in Andrew Tye in place of Mohsin Khan. Meanwhile, Moeen Ali made a comeback for CSK and Dwaine Pretorius was included in place of Mitchell Santner as Mukesh Choudhary came in place of Adam Milne.
"Would've bowled first too. Now we're batting so will look to put up a decent score. Blessed with a huge fan following. Three changes - Moeen is back, Milne has a sidestrain so going with three overseas," CSK skipper Jadeja said.
"Going to bowl first. At the end of the day we need to play good cricket as well. But have been watching the last few games, ball gets wet towards the end. Also this looks like a fresh wicket with some grass on it. Enjoyed the last game that we played. Boys showed good fight. Showed real character. Was pleasing for us and will take confidence from that. One change - Tye comes in, Mohsin misses out," LSG captain Rahul said before the match.
Dwayne Bravo (170), who is now the joint-highest wicket-taker in the IPL with Lasith Malinga, is still the go-to option for CSK whenever they need wickets. But Deepak Chahar's unavailability left CSK short of a quality option in the powerplay. Meanwhile, the return of Moeen will be a big boost for CSK in all departments. With the presence of three left-handers in the LSG line-up - De Kock, Lewis and Krunal, Moeen is a good match-up option while he can also reprise his 2021 role as a spin-hitter in the middle overs.
On the other hand, Lucknow skipper KL Rahul and star opener Quinton De Kock had a forgettable outing in the last outing against Gujarat Titans and they would be keen to get some runs under their belt. Rahul needs to lead from the front with the IPL presenting a big test for his captaincy skills.
Seasoned campaigner Manish Pandey and Evin Lewis, who is a hard-hitting batter, on their day can take any attack to cleaners, had a forgettable outing and the team management would hope that they come to the party.
Pitch report
"What we saw in the first match here was a bit of extra bounce troubling the batters. That's something the bowlers will look into. Wickets came off short-pitched bowling. This pitch has had a bit of water put on it since the other day. It's definitely greener. Reckon it's not quite as hard. Wouldn't be surprised if it's a good batting wicket, but the seamers but just get a little bit if they pitch it up, might just nibble off a length," former English spinner Graeme Swann said.
Chennai Super Kings Playing XI:
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja(c), MS Dhoni(w), Shivam Dube, Dwayne Bravo, Dwaine Pretorius, Mukesh Choudhary, Tushar Deshpande.
Lucknow Super Giants Playing XI:
KL Rahul(c), Quinton de Kock(w), Evin Lewis, Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Dushmantha Chameera, Andrew Tye, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan.
