CSK VS KKR 1st Match of 2022 Preview and playing 11...

Match Preview And playing 11

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) each other in the season opener of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, on Saturday. The match will kick-start a two-month cricket carnival which fans have been eagerly waiting for. It will also be a rematch of last year's final where CSK defeated KKR in the final.

In IPL 2022, CSK will be under a new captain with Ravindra Jadeja receiving the baton from MS Dhoni on Thursday. The defending champions will be without some of last season's star performers in the guise of Faf du Plessis, Shardul Thakur and Josh Hazlewood. Meanwhile, the side will also have some new faces with Devon Conway and Adam Milne joining ranks

The franchise will be heavily reliant on the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dhoni, Jadeja and Ambati Rayudu in the upcoming game. Star all-rounder Moeen Ali will be missing the opener vs KKR.

KKR also have a new captain with Shreyas Iyer replacing Eoin Morgan as skipper. KKR purchased Iyer for a huge sum of Rs 12.25 crore during the mega auction this year. Even KKR will be without some crucial players, with the likes of Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi and Lockie Ferguson not a part of the squad anymore.

The likes of Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine will be crucial to KKR's ambitions this season.

Both sides have faced each other a total of 28 times, with CSK coming out on top with 18 wins. KKR have won nine times and one match ended as a no-result encounter

Important Tips

1. M Ali Will not available for this Match due to Visa issues

2. A finch and Pat Cummins will not be available for selection because both are Playing Series in Pakistan

3. In absence of A finch A Rahane and V Iyer Open for KKR and R Gayakwad and R Uthappa Open for CSK

Pitch Report

The deck at Wankhede Stadium has always been good for batting. There is an even bounce on the track, and the shorter boundaries make the job even easier for the batters. There will be a massive dew factor and both teams would want to bowl first after winning the toss. With the super-fast outfield, high-scoring games are always on the cards at Wankhede Stadium.

Average 1st innings score

The average first innings score on this wicket is 167 runs.

Record of chasing teams:

The team batting second has great records here. They have maintained a winning percentage of 50+ on this ground

Probable XI

CSK

Ruturaj Gaikwad,Robin Uthappa, Devon Conway, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Shivam Dube, Dwayne Bravo, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana, Adam Milne

KKR

Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer (c), Sam Billings (wk), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shivam Mavi, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Tim Southee

Players Stats and All Records

Chennai Super Kings

Ruturaj Gaikwad enters this season as the Orange Cap holder. His 635 runs last season included scores of 64 (42), 40 (28) and 32 (27) against KKR. Overall, he has struck 208 runs against them in four matches at an average of 52.00 and strike rate of 138.67.
Gaikwad averages 50 and strikes at 114 in the powerplay in IPL. Between overs 12 and 16, he unleashes, striking at 179 with an average of 70 in this period. So, KKR need his wicket early.

Devon Conway have on IPL debut He has made a brilliant start to his T20I career (avg. 50.17 in 17 innings) and has a great record in all T20s both batting first (57 inns, 2,065 runs, avg. 45.89, SR 130.20) and second (55 inns, 1,700 runs, avg. 41.46, SR 125.74).

Robin Uthappa had a new lease of life at the backend of IPL 2021, including an important 15-ball 31 in the Final against KKR.

Ravindra Jadeja has arguably been the best finisher with the bat over the past two IPL seasons. Since the start of 2020, Jadeja has smashed 459 runs at an average of 57.38 and strike rate of 157.73.
Against KKR, Jadeja has struck 248 runs in 15 innings at an average of 49.60 and strike rate of 156.96. He also has 18 wickets in as many innings against them.

Dwayne Bravo will be key at the death for CSK. He doesn’t have the best of records against KKR (12 wickets, avg. 31.75, econ. 9.69), with Andre Russell smashing 78 off 30 balls off Bravo in the IPL without a single dismlssal. Can he change that record in this match

Kolkata Knight Riders

Venkatesh Iyer was a breath of fresh air for KKR in 2021. The all-rounder struck 370 runs in 10 matches at an average of 41.11 and strike rate of 128.47, including 50 (32) vs CSK in the Final. It will also be interesting to see if KKR use Iyer with the ball.

Shreyas Iyer was purchased for a hefty fee and will now lead the franchise. How will he handle the pressure? He has been in outstanding touch in 2022, with scores of 57*, 73* and 74* in the recent T20I series vs Sri Lanka.
Shreyas will be looking to improve on his numbers vs CSK, which read: 11 inns, 236 runs, avg. 23.60, SR 106.79.

Andre Russell, as mentioned, has a brilliant record against Dwayne Bravo. He also has magnificent numbers vs CSK overall, with 344 runs in 11 innings at an average of 49.14 and incredible strike rate of 178.14. He smashed a 22-ball 54 against CSK on this ground last season.
Russell also has eight wickets against CSK at an average of 29.13 and economy rate of 8.96. He could be used at the death once again with his round-the-wicket angle.

Sunil Narine has the most wickets in CSK-KKR matches with 21 scalps in 17 innings at an average of 20.19 and superb economy rate of 6.30. He took 1/34, 3/41 and 2/26 against CSK in a superb 2021 campaign where he took 16 wickets overall at an economy rate of just 6.44.
KKR must look to use Umesh Yadav as a powerplay specialist. He has a terrific record in this period in the IPL: 1074 balls bowled, 45 wickets taken, avg. 30.73, econ. 7.72. As a comparison, Deepak Chahar: 1021 balls bowled, 43 wickets taken, avg. 30.69, econ. 7.75.

Other Stats and Facts

Head-to-head: Matches 28, CSK 18, KKR 9, N/R 1.

Ruturaj Gaikwad enjoys both batting first and second in IPL. He averages 40.2 batting first (362 runs, SR 134.6) and 53 batting second (477 runs, SR 130.3).

Ravindra Jadeja at Wankhede Stadium: 265 runs, avg. 22.08, SR 152.30 & 16 wickets, avg. 32.19, SR 24.44.

Ambati Rayudu for CSK vs KKR: 7 inns, 164 runs, avg. 23.43, SR 116.31. He also has a similar batting record at the Wankhede (985 runs, avg. 20.52, SR 127.59).
Ajinkya Rahane averages 22.87 in 18 matches vs CSK (343 runs).

Andre Russell averages 36 and strikes at 217 in overs 17-20 in the IPL.