Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore: Live streaming, playing XI and TV listing

Chennai Super Kings will welcome Royal Challengers Bangalore to the MA Chidambaram Stadium in the opening encounter of Indian Premier League 2019 on March 23.

When and where to watch the match on TV, online

The IPL match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will start at 8 pm local time and 2:30 pm GMT.

Star Sports 1 & HD1 (English) and Star Sports 3 & HD3 (Hindi) will provide live television coverage of the match. The worldwide live stream will be available on Hotstar.

CSK vs RCB preview

The defending champions under the stewardship of the unflappable MS Dhoni will take on the current India skipper's side RCB in what promises to be a mouth-watering opener to the 12^th edition of India's premier cricketing extravaganza. Both Dhoni and Kohli are magnetic figures in the cricketing circuit but while the former has won it all, the latter is desperate to add the IPL trophy to his cabinet.

CSK has the most experienced side in the tournament which bodes well for them as they have players who have been in tough situations and have won tournaments for their side. On the other hand, the whirlpool of experience also brings with it an ageing side which should not be a problem at the beginning of the tournament. Dhoni knows his team very well and treats the CSK team as his family. He was a rejuvenated cricketer last season when he donned the yellow after two long years.

Kohli's tale with RCB has been that of so close, yet so far. He has been runners up on three occasions and this time will be aiming to go all the way before heading to the World Cup, which will be firmly on his mind. The Bangalore brigade will be without all-rounder Marcus Stoinis and pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile in this encounter as they are away on international duty for Australia against Pakistan.

The RCB side is filled with all-rounders this time which will help them sort out their issues with a top-heavy batting line up but their death bowling still remains a cause of concern. Meanwhile, CSK will miss the services of young South African pacer Lungi Ngidi as he pulled out of the tournament with a side strain.

Despite the injury, the CSK side definitely looks more balanced but in a T20 format, short bursts of excellence can completely change a game.

Probable XIs 

CSK: Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (C) (WK), Sam Billings, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Mohit Sharma, Imran Tahir

RCB: Moeen Ali, Parthiv Patel (WK), Virat Kohli (C), AB De Villiers, Shimron Hetmeyer, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj

Global TV listings