File photo of CSK captain MS Dhoni (left) with RCB skipper Virat Kohli.
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli has opted to bat first after winning the toss against MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings in Match 44 of IPL 2020 in Dubai on Sunday. RCB will also be wearing their green jersey for the game.
After wininng the toss skipper Virat Kohli revealed it's safer to bat first on this wicket after what happened in the match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings X Punjab in the match. He also brings in extra spinner in Moeen Ali for the game for Isuru Udana.
"We will bat first. It's pretty dry, rough. It's interesting when the weather was hot the pitches weren't playing well. The temperatures have dropped now but it's slowing down. Moeen Ali replaces Isuru Udana as a spinner all-rounder, just one change," he said.
CSK skipper Dhoni, on the other hand, said he would have batted first on this wicket and reveals that Mitchell Santner will play his first game of the season while Jharkhand pacer Monu Kumar will make his IPL debut.
"We would have loved to bat first as well, same reason, it's a used wicket. Mathematically we still have a chance, but you have to think how we have done in this season. 4-5 games prior we just took one game at a time and not worry about the points table. If we win it will take care of itself. We are looking at faces who haven't got chances. Santner, Monu come in for Josh and Shardul," Dhoni said.
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, N Jagadeesan, MS Dhoni(w/c), Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir, Monu Kumar.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers(w), Moeen Ali, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Chris Morris, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
As per pitch report, this is a used surface with spinners might have a bigger role to play. Experts suggested if team batting first reaches 160-165, then it has a chance to defend. The batters might not find it as easy before if the bowling unit has good enough spinners.
More to follow…
