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It is again time of the year when Chennai will drape itself in yellow, holding its breath for a glimpse of Chennai Super Kings former captain MS Dhoni, before falling into a state of euphoric reverie as the Men in Yellow take to the pitch against Faf Du Plessis-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in a South Indian derby at the latter's home arena--MA Chidambaram Stadium in the opening match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
The home crowd will thus welcome the opportunity to see the 42-year-old kick off another IPL season but this time under the new captain opening batter Ruturaj Gaikwad, who took the captaincy baton from Dhoni on Thursday. The game will also mark a new chapter in CSK's illustrious history, as Gaikwad was named captain of the squad on match day, bringing Dhoni's role into the side's huge spotlight. However, stepping into Dhoni's big shoes and carrying CSK's victorious legacy will be a formidable challenge for Gaikwad. Gaikwad has a strong record to maintain, but the odds are stacked against RCB in Chennai. The last time they beat CSK in Chepauk was during the first IPL season in 2008 when now CSK's head coach Stephen Fleming, was still playing. First up against CSK will be a reinvigorated RCB, looking to change the narrative after its women's team broke the franchise's title jinx by winning the Women's Premier League last week. Under recently appointed coach Andy Flower, who has an impressive track record in franchise leagues throughout the world, the Faf du Plessis-led team will be eager to break through CSK's defences for the first time since the first season in 2008. CSK has its mantra of strangling the opposition with their spin attack now they have added spin all-rounder Rachin Ravindra into the franchise. With Ravindra Jadeja and Maheesh Theekshana in the mix, RCB will be looking for an encore on a spin-friendly pitch. Concerning CSK's batting section, the defending champion will be worried about the form and fitness of its batters. CSK suffered an injury blow before the beginning of the season as New Zealand opener Devon Conway is expected to miss at least the first half of the tournament after undergoing thumb surgery. With Ajinkya Rahane's poor performance and Shivam Dube's injury, Daryl Mitchell may take over middle-order responsibilities. CSK has rarely relied on a world-class bowling unit, although the five-time champions do boast domestic fast bowlers Tushar Deshpande, Simarjeet Singh, and Mukesh Choudhary. Meanwhile, RCB has little room to move the order with consideration to its foreign picks. With RCB Du Plessis, Virat Kohli, and all-rounder Glenn Maxwell at the core of the lineup, RCB will look on Cameron Green and Rajat Patidar in the middle order to balance the top-heavy skew against great spin bowling. With the 'KGF' of RCB -Kohli, Glenn and Faf already holding spots in top orders the team will look to find hard-hitting batters for the middle order. In the bowling department, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep will ensure that RCB has one region well covered. RCB squad: 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, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh and Saurav Chauhan. CSK Squad: MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), 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. (ANI)
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