Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss in his 200th match as a captain and chose to bowl first at Chepauk. With dew expected as the game progresses, it is a wise decision by Dhoni to field first.
There were quite a few changes in the lineups. Samson at the toss forgot the changes in the lineup. However, the notable exclusion was that of Mitchell Santner. It was very difficult for Mitchell Santner to be dropped from the side.
Why is Santner not playing?
Santner was extremely unlucky not to play in today’s match. The left-arm spinner had an impactful performance at this venue last time, but he was dropped as Maheesh Theekshana returned to the side. The Chennai Super Kings franchise opted for Magala as an overseas fast bowler as they do not have experience in the fast bowling department.
What did the captains say?
Sanju Samson: We would have liked to bowl first too. We have started well but we need to continue the momentum. We are playing at Chepauk after a long time. We have experience and the youngsters to do that. It has always been a pleasure to come to Chepauk and play here. Boulty misses out due to a small niggle and we have a couple of changes, you will come to know that. It’s difficult to keep track with the sub rule.
MS Dhoni: We will bowl first. It maybe slightly on the slower side, different from the first game. Dew may play a role and it might get better in the second innings. (On his 200th game as CSK captain in the IPL) It feels good and also I feel the crowd has been fantastic. Also the fact that we started in the old stadium, it was very hot and humid. But now it feels like we’re playing in Switzerland. It’s good to play. We have seen cricket change – how T20 was played at that point of time till now, a lot has changed. The crowd has been fantastic. We have had injury concerns and players were unavailable, but still we have done well. Mitchell Santner and Pretorius make way for Theekshana and Moeen.
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI)
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson(w/c), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jason Holder, Kuldeep Sen, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI)
Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w/c), Sisanda Magala, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Singh
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