IPL fever is back with defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) locking horns with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Saturday at the Wankhede Stadium. Both teams will hope to make a winning start and set the tone for the rest of the tournament.
The Chennai franchise will miss two of their star players in Deepak Chahar and Moeen Ali, which will be a massive blow to the franchise. Moreover, MS Dhoni has relinquished his leadership duties two days ahead of IPL 2022.
“Whatever MS does is in the best interest for the franchise." – 🗣️Kasi Sir Speaks on #7➡️#8 #Yellove #WhistlePodu 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/Iih0XBndfl
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) March 26, 2022
With a new captain in Ravindra Jadeja at the helm, CSK will have some challenges early on. However, the four-time champions have some firepower who can change the fortune of the game. Last year’s Orange holder Ruturaj Gaikwad will look to extend his dream run this year as well.
KKR, on the other hand, looks more settled despite missing out on Tim Southee and Pat Cummins. But they have made some star signing at the mega auction, including Shreyas Iyer, who was later appointed as the captain. Ajinkya Rahane is likely to open along with Venkatesh Iyer.
Match Details
Match 1 – Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Date & Time: March 26th at 7:30 PM IST and local time
Pitch Report
Wankhede Stadium is known to have favoured the batters over the years. However, the slow bowlers will come into play as the ball gets old.
Predicted Playing XI
CSK – Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Shivam Dube, Dwayne Bravo, Tushar Deshpande, Chris Jordan / Maheesh Theekshana, Adam Milne
KKR – Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer (c), Sam Billings (wk), Andre Russell, Mohammad Nabi / Tim Southee, Sunil Narine, Shivam Mavi, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy
CSK vs KKR – Fantasy Teams Prediction
Fantasy Team 1: Sam Billings, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja (c), Andre Russell (vc), Venkatesh Iyer, Shivam Dube, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy, Maheesh Theekshana
Fantasy Team 2: Sam Billings, Devon Conway, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer (vc), Dwayne Bravo, Adam Milne, Varun Chakravarthy
