Opening Match Details:
Time: 7:30 PM
Date: Saturday, March, 26, 2022
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai (Ticket sale online from Mar 23 midnight)
Live Streaming: Disney + HotStar
The opening clash of the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League will bring mighties of the league against each other. Defending champions Chennai Super Kings will take on runners-up Kolkata Knight Riders on March 26 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Both the teams have brought quality players in their squad in IPL auctions. Still, CSK, as per their nature, trusted their core group and brought back players like Moeen Ali, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dwayne Bravo and Ambati Rayudu.
While Dhoni will again lead the Yellow Army, Galaxy of Knights has trusted Shreyas Iyer for the same after bringing him a whopping 12.5 crores. The first clash between the finalists is undoubtedly going to be an exciting affair between bat and ball, and cricket fans will be eager to witness a thrilling and exciting opening match.
The defending champions will miss the presence of star players like Moeen Ali and Deepak Chahar, whereas Pat Cummins and Aaron French are from the KKR squad, who will be missing out on the first game.
For CSK, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway are expected to open the innings, while Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube and skipper MS Dhoni will strengthen the middle-order. Ravindra Jadeja, Under-19 star Rajvardhan Hangargekar and Dwayne Bravo will make a lethal trio of all-rounders. At the same time, Adam Milne and Tushar Deshpande will lead the pace attack for the franchise.
Meanwhile, Kolkata Knight Riders will rely on Venkatesh Iyer and Ajinkaya Rahane for opening the inning as the duo can perfectly anchor the innings when needed. Also, Iyer's ability to hit huge sixes will be an added flavour for Kolkata Knight Riders.
Shreyas Iyer is likely to come at number 3, while Nitish Rana, Sam Billings, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine will be responsible for adding runs in the middle-order. Tim Southee, Shivam Mavi and Umesh Yadav will lead the attack from the bowling department and Varun Chakravarthy will be trapping opponents with his turn.
CSK have always begun their inning safely. In the first half of the 20 overs - Chennai score nearly 7.5 runs and over. In the powerplay, in IPL 2021, CSK had a run rate of 7.16, averaged 46.07, and had 38.6 balls per dismissal. Similarly, from 7-11 overs, they average 40.87 while scoring at 7.66.
In the second half, CSK increases their attacking intent. From 12-16 overs, CSK batting average was 22 and balls per dismissal 16 - showing the attacking intent. In the following slog overs, they average 31.67 and score at a run rate of 11.7. KKR was a bit inconsistent last season with the bat. Things weren't steady for them, and they couldn't push the scoring rate as per their will. In 1-6, KKR scored at 7.47; from 7-11 - 7.32; from 12-16, 8.11; and 17-20, 7.43.
Probable Squads: CSK vs KKR
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (C), Ravindra Jadeja, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Adam Milne, Dwayne Bravo, and Tushar Deshpande.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana, Sam Billings (WK), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy, and Umesh Yadav.
Other details:
Fans can buy tickets starting March 23rd from 12 PM onwards on the official website www.iplt20.com. Tickets can also be purchased on www.BookMyShow.com.
