CSK to take on RCB in inaugural match tonight

It’s time for the most awaited cricket carnival of the country as the men in yellow — Chennai Super Kings (CSK) — take on the all new Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the iconic M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai to kick-off the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) later today.

Just a day before the start of the premier tournament, M.S. Dhoni, who had led CSK to five titles (2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023) stepped down as the captain making way for Ruturaj Gaikwad to take over the reigns of the champion team.  Under Dhoni, CSK became one of the successful teams of the Indian Premier League reaching the finals 10 times.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru led by South African Faf Du Plessis will be eager to change the narrative after the women’s team broke the jinx winning the Women’s Premier League beating the Delhi Capitals last week. Having appointed Andy Flower as the head coach, RCB will be eyeing to break through CSK’s defences. With CSK inducting New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra, it has only made it tough for the opposition with Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner and Maheesh Theekshana already in the mix. CSK will also have to overcome a few hindrances concerning the batting department. With opener Devon Conway expected to miss the first half of the tournament, Shivam Dube suffering an injury and Ajinkya Rahane’s poor form, CSK will depend on Daryll Mitchell to steady the innings in the middle order along with Dhoni, Jadeja and Rachin Ravindra.

Meanwhile, RCB will look for a winning start with Du Plessis, Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell at the core line up. Mohd. Siraj, Alzarri Joseph and Akash Deep will spearhead the bowling department and Cameron Green and Rajat Patidar will add balance to team in the middle order.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the schedule for only  first 21 matches from Mar. 22 to Apr. 7 owing to Lok Sabha polls.

Special broadcast for differently-abled

This season, IPL features sign language feed and descriptive commentary for differently-abled fans. The broadcaster will work with India Signing Hands (ISH News) to create customised commentary. The feed will provide ball-by-ball updates using Indian sign language by the specialists along with regular verbal score updates.

CSK Squad

M.S. Dhoni, Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Ruturaj Gaikwad (Capt.), Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Mandal, Mukesh Choudhary, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Mitchell Santner, Simarjeet Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana, Rachin Ravindra, Shardul Thakur, Daryl Mitchell, Sameer Rizvi, Mustafizur Rahman and Avanish Rao Aravelly

RCB Squad

Faf du Plessis (Capt.), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vyshak Vijay Kumar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh and             Saurav Chauhan.

IPL 2024 Captains

Chennai Super Kings                                          Ruturaj Gaikwad

Royal Challengers Bengaluru                         Faf du Plessis

Delhi Capitals                                                        Rishabh Pant

Gujarat Titans                                                        Shubman Gill

Kolkata Knight Riders                                        Shreyas Iyer

Lucknow Super Giants                                       K.L. Rahul

Mumbai Indians                                                   Hardik Pandya

Punjab Kings                                                          Shikhar Dhawan

Rajasthan Royals                                                  Sanju Samson

Sunrisers Hyderabad                                          Pat Cummins