The high-stakes match between cross-city rivals Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday (March 22) will not only usher in IPL 2024 but also a new dawn for the defending champions with iconic MS Dhoni handing over the captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad. (Full IPL 2024 Coverage |Match Blog)
Dhoni is expected to retire at the end 🔴of this season and it seems the unanticipated move, just a day before the start of new season, has been taken for a smooth transition.
But beyond the emotional whirlpool that surrounds Dhoni handing over captaincy to Gaikwad, CSK and RCB will have to find some early answers to some deep questions as they attempt to ente𝓰r a rarefied territory.
The Super Kings are five-time champions, and a sixth title will put them in a space where no team has entered so far, not even Mumbai Indians, who also have five 𝐆IPL trophies.
On the other hand, the Royal Challengers, who recently grabbed their maiden title through Wome🌞n's Premier League, will be eager to add a first IPL title to their shelf.
However, they have their own challe🀅nges to master.
The Super Kings have been the torch-bearers of🍌 success in the IPL under Dhoni, whose IPL career h𒁃as reached its final chapter.
While his cricketing brain is still immune to advancing years, the passing summers hav♛e caught up with his reflexes as a batsman.
So, the younger names will♎ have to step up. The CSK have placed enormous faith in new re🦄cruit Rachin Ravindra in the absence of Devon Conway, who will miss the initial part of IPL due to a thumb injury.
The CSK have more Kiwi flavour in Daryl Mitchell🧔, a hard-hitting middle-order batter and a handy seamer.
In batting, they can also look to bank on the experience of Ajinkya Rahane and the exuberance of opener Gaikwad, who is entering the IPL after topꦫ-scoring for Maharashtra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
It will be interesting to see how he manages𒈔 the task of leading CSK, a legacy team that carries massive levels of expectations from fans eඣvery season.
However, Gaikꦺwad has a winning formula at his hand, laid out so successfully over the years by Dhoni.
It's the pr꧋esence of a clutch of all-rounders and spinners who can use the abrasive Chidambaram Stadium pit🦩ch to the hilt.
The li🦩kes of Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Moeen Ali, Maheesh Theekshana can make even the best dance to their tunes here.
The CSK also have two wily domest🔯🦄ic campaigners in pacers Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur.
However, Sri Lankan slinger Matheesha Pathirana w🌺ill miss initial matches after 🔜failing to recover from a hamstring injury he suffered during the recent T20I series against Bangladesh.
But those little scratches on the 🦄CSK machine do not make the task of RCB any easier. To understand it better, RCB have not beaten CSK at this venue since 2008.
Skipper Faf du Plessis and star batter Virat Kohli, who is returning to co🍸mpetitive cricket after a 𒈔two-month break, will once again have to shoulder the batting responsibility.
They are set to open together, but this time the addition of Cameron Green might act as a protection plan if one of them or both of them fail to 🔴get going. Green can also chip in as a bowler.
Then there is always Glenn Maxwell, whose high-return outings in last year’s World Cup might not have𒀰 been forgotten.
They have a mixꦅ of extreme pace and skills in the fast bowling unit through Mohammedജ Siraj, Lockie Ferguson, Alzarri Joseph, Akash Deep and Reece Topley, but none of them are particularly good in death over situations.
The RCB spin attack, though, 🅺wears a thin look in the absence of leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, who was released ahead of the auction.
They will have to hope for Maxwell to deliver the goods with his off-spin🌄 but others like Karn Sharma, Himanshu Sharma and Mayank Dagar are either short of match practice or untested.
Squads
CSK: Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, 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, Daꦇryl Mitchell, Sameer Rizvi, Mustafizur Rahman and Avanish Rao Aravelly.
RCB: Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzar🐠ri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh and Saurav Chauhan.
