- Date- 26th March 2022
- Time- 07:30 PM IST
- Venue- Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
- Match format- T20
- Weather Forecast- Sunny, 29-31 °C
Chennai Super Kings will lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening match of the 15th edition of IPL. The defending champions will be looking to start their campaign with a win against the runner-ups of the last edition.
The Super Kings as always have kept their core intact with a few changes mainly in the bowling department. They retained and bought back most of the players that were earlier associated with the franchise. MS Dhoni has also handed the captaincy to Ravindra Jadeja just two days ahead of the season opener. Meanwhile, CSK seems a bit light on the bowling side with the absence of Deepak Chahar and Moeen Ali.
On the other hand, KKR has made some major changes to their squad and appointed Shreyas Iyer to lead the team this season. They also bought back Nitish Rana, Pat Cummins, and Shivam Mavi who showcased some brilliant performances in the last edition. Overall they boast a good balance of tactical batters and power hitters that strengthen their batting unit. Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine shall enjoy the conditions at the Wankhede pitch and strengthen the bowling for KKR.
Top Batsmen for CSK vs KKR
- Ruturaj Gaikwad (CSK)- 635 Runs in 16 Matches, 136.26 Strike Rate
- Devon Conway (CSK)- 602 Runs in 20 Matches, 139.35 Strike Rate
- Ambati Rayudu (CSK)– 257 Runs in 16 Matches, 151.17 Strike Rate
- Shreyas Iyer (KKR)-175 Runs in 8 Matches, 102.33 Strike Rate
- Venkatesh Iyer (KKR)- 370 Runs in 10 Matches, 128.47 Strike Rate
- Nitish Rana (KKR)- 383 Runs in 17 Matches, 121.97 Strike Rate
Top Bowlers for CSK vs KKR
- Dwayne Bravo (CSK)- 14 Wickets in 11 Matches, 7.81 Economy
- Ravindra Jadeja (CSK)- 13 Wickets in 16 Matches, 7.06 Economy
- Adam Milne (CSK)- 7 Wickets in 9 Matches, 9.62 Economy
- Sunil Narine (KKR)- 16 Wickets in 14 Matches, 6.44 Economy
- Varun Chakravarthy (KKR)- 18 Wickets in 17 Matches, 6.58 Economy
- Shivam Mavi (KKR)- 11 Wickets in 9 Matches, 7.24 Economy
CSK vs KKR Today Match Prediction Scenarios
Scenario 1- If CSK bats first
First Innings score prediction- CSK is expected to score 150.
Result prediction- KKR will win the match by 4 Wickets.
Scenario 2- If KKR bats first
First Innings score prediction- KKR is expected to score 170.
Result prediction- KKR will win the match by 20 Runs.
Who Will Win?
KKR to win.
With a completely new lineup formed KKR has the adequate advantage of power hitters up their ranks required to win T20 games. On the other hand, comparing the bowling department of both the squads KKR possesses some good fast pacers that could dominate CSK on the Wankhede pitch. Both teams have clear weaknesses for the others to exploit but we think KKR has more strengths.
CSK vs KKR Head to Head
| Total Matches Played | CSK Won | KKR Won | No Result |
| 26 | 17 | 8 | 1 |
Squad for CSK vs KKR, Match 1
CSK
Batters and WKs: C Hari Nishaanth, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu (WK), Devon Conway (WK), MS Dhoni (C&WK), N Jagadeesan (WK), Robin Uthappa (WK) & Subranshu Senapati.
All-rounders: Bhagath Varma, Dwaine Pretorious, Dwayne Bravo, Mitchell Santner, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja & Shivam Dube
Bowlers: Adam Milne, Chris Jordan, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Mukesh Chaudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Simarjeet Singh, Tushar Deshpande, M Theekshana & Prashant Solanki
KKR
Batters and WKs: Abhijeet Tomar, Ajinkya Rahane, Nitish Rana, Pratham Singh, Ramesh Kumar, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Baba Indrajith (WK), Sam Billings (WK) & Sheldon Jackson (WK)
All-rounders: Aman Khan, Andre Russell, Anukul Roy, Chamika Karunaratne, Mohammad Nabi, Venkatesh Iyer
Bowlers: Ashok Sharma, Rasikh Salam Dar, Shivam Mavi, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Sunil Narine & Varun Chakravarthy
Team Update/Players Availability/Injury News
- Moeen Ali will miss the opening match as he hasn’t arrived in the country yet due to VISA issues.
- CSK’s key bowler, Deepak Chahar is also recovering from an injury and is most likely to miss the match.
- Pat Cummins and Aaron Finch will remain unavailable for KKR due to Australia’s ongoing tour of Pakistan which concludes on April 05.
CSK vs KKR Probable Playing 11
Chennai Super Kings Playing 11
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja (C), MS Dhoni (WK), Shivam Dube, Dwayne Bravo, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Rajvardhan Hangargekar/KM Asif
Kolkata Knight Riders Playing 11
Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer (C), Andre Russel, Sam Billings, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy
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