Chennai Super Kings (CSK) take on Mumbai Indians (MI) as Ruturaj Gaikwad won the toss and opted to bowl first in their IPL 2025 campaign opener on March 23, Sunday.
What did the captains say?
After winning the toss, CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, said:
"We are bowling first. Playing on this pitch for the first time, so don't really know how it will play. So we just want to adapt and chase accordingly. Looks a good wicket to bat. Prep has been good. We had our young wicket-keeper coming back early to the camp. Noor, Ellis, Rachin and Sam Curran are the overseas."
Meanwhile, MI skipper Suryakumar Yadav, after losing the toss, said:
"I am good with batting first. We had a lovely camp back home, we were here 2-3 days before. Both are unbelievable franchises in terms of achievements. I am sure it will be a good game. Rickleton, Jacks, Santner and Boult are the four overseas."
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI):
Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton(w), Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Robin Minz, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Satyanarayana Raju
Impact Subs: Vignesh Puthur, Ashwani Kumar, Raj Bawa, Corbin Bosch, Karn Sharma
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI):
Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Rachin Ravindra, Deepak Hooda, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, MS Dhoni(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Nathan Ellis, Khaleel Ahmed
Impact Subs: Rahul Tripathi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Vijay Shankar, Jamie Overton, Shaik Rasheed
Pitch Report
"75m and 72m square boundaries and downtown it is 74m," says Danny Morrison. "I like the look of this pitch here at Chepauk. First thing I saw as soon as I walked out was that there is a sheen on the surface which is always a great sight. You can see that it is nice and compact. It is a lot harder than I thought. Last season the avg score was 170 but with a bit of dew coming in tonight I expect the score to be a lot higher. Spinners will get a little bit of purchase, the change of pace is going to grip a bit for the pacers, but it will slide on to the bat generally," Shane Watson analysed the pitch.
CSK vs MI head-to-head record in IPL:
Total matches played: 38
Mumbai Indians wins: 21
Chennai Super Kings wins: 17