Bengaluru, May 18: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) won the toss and elected to bowl first against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), as the two southern teams face each other in the 68th match of the IPL 2024 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, here on Saturday.
Both teams would be desperate for a win to qualify for the play-offs. While CSK need a win, RCB need a massive victory to finish in the top four.
Table toppers Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have already booked their places for the knockout stages but the last team to join them in the playoffs is yet to be ascertained.
This is likely to be the final time the two icons of Indian cricket MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli face each as players in opposite teams in the IPL.
If RCB do not qualify for play-offs, this may also be the final IPL match of veteran wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik.
Karthik has earlier represented Team India for years. He has been a vital member for the RCB in the last couple of seasons . The Tamil Nadu keeper has also played for IPL franchises Mumbai, Punjab and Kolkata earlier.
Bangalore and Chennai have faced each other in 32 matches in IPL. Out of these 32 games, Bangalore have won 10 whereas Chennai have come out victorious on 21 occasion. 1 match ended without a result.
Squads:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru XI: Faf du Plessis (Captain), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Mahipal Lomror, Yash Dayal, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj and Lockie Ferguson.
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (Captain), Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Ajinkya Rahane, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Shardul Thakur, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande and Simarjeet Singh.
Despite the result of the match, fans, experts and cricket enthusiasts would be keen to see their icon players MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik do well in a packed house Chinnaswamy Stadium.
