IPL 2024: Chennai-Bangalore clash in the opening match, know who has the upper hand?

• Counting hours left for IPL 2024 to start
  
• MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli will face each other in the first match
  
• Which team wins head-to-head record?
  

Now less than a day is left for the start of IPL 2024. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli will face each other in the first match of the tournament. The first match of IPL 2024 will be played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings in Chepauk, Chennai. So with which playing eleven will both the teams take the field, how will the pitch behave in Chepauk and who is the favorite to win?

pitch report

The first match between CSK and RCB will be played at Chepauk Stadium, Chennai. The pitch of this ground proves to be very effective for spinners. Spinners trouble the batsmen a lot on this ground. Mostly only low scoring matches are seen here. Although the actual behavior of the pitch will be known only during the match, the spinners are sure to get help. Chennai has excellent spinners like Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja and Mahish Tikshana, who can create problems for the RCB batsmen.

head to head record

So far in the IPL, Chennai Super Kings have dominated Royal Challengers Bangalore. 31 matches have been played between the two in the tournament, of which CSK has won 20. Whereas RCB has won only 10 matches. One match remained inconclusive. Both the teams have played 8 matches in Chepauk, in which Chennai has won 7 matches, while Bengaluru has won only 1 match. In such a situation, Chennai Super Kings can dominate Royal Challengers Bangalore in the match.

Probable playing eleven of both the teams

Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane/Samir Rizvi, Shivam Dubey, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Mahish Tikhsna and Mustafizur Rahman.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (captain), Cameron Green, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal/Aakash Deep and Alzarri Joseph.

big score

Now let’s look at other numbers. Here too, if we talk about the biggest score, Chennai has gone ahead of Bengaluru. Both teams scored their highest scores against each other in the same match last year. In the match played in Bengaluru, CSK, batting first, scored 226 runs at the loss of 6 wickets. In reply, Bangalore scored 218 runs at the loss of 8 wickets. If we talk about Chepauk Stadium in Chennai, where the match is to be held on Friday, then CSK’s highest score against Bangalore is 208 runs, while RCB’s is 205 runs. Coincidentally, both these scores came in the same match in 2012.

Who is ahead in terms of runs and wickets?

Talking about the individual performance of the players, former Bengaluru captain and batsman Virat Kohli has scored the most runs in both the teams. Kohli has scored 985 runs in 30 innings at a strike rate of 125, which includes 9 half-centuries. Whereas from CSK, their captain Dhoni is at the forefront. He has scored 740 runs in 28 innings with a strike rate of 145 and 4 half-centuries. As far as bowling is concerned, the spinners on both sides have been impressive. Above all is Chennai’s experienced all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja who has taken 18 wickets in 18 innings. Former Bengaluru leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has been the most successful. Chahal took 13 wickets in 13 innings against Chennai.

Change in Chennai captaincy

It is noteworthy that just a few hours before the start of the tournament, the Chennai team has made a major change in the captain. CSK has appointed Ruturaj Gaikwad as the captain in place of Dhoni for the upcoming season. In such a situation, it will be interesting to see how the current champion Chennai performs under the captaincy of Gaikwad.