Ruturaj Gaikwad won the crucial toss as Chennai Super Kings elected to bowl first against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the 68th match of the IPL 2024 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, May 18. Both teams made major changes to their playing elevens for their biggest game of the season.
Will Jacks' name was missing RCB's starting eleven as the in-form all-rounder returned to England earlier this week. Jacks played a crucial role in Bengaluru's win over Delhi Capitals last Sunday but flew back to England to get prepared for the T20 World Cup 2024.
Struggling Australian star Glenn Maxwell came in for Jacks' place in the only change for the hosts. Chennai Super Kings were also forced to make a change with Moeen Ali also returning to England with Will Jacks and the rest of the English players featuring in the IPL 2024. Mitchell Santner replaced Moeen in Chennai's starting eleven.
"The wicket looks good, conditions are overcast and we will look to make the most of the movement in the first 2-3 overs," Ruturaj Gaikwad said after winning the toss. "It looks a bit damp, but we'll go with great intent. Every game in the IPL is must win, nothing changes for us, we'll take it ball-by-ball, and try and win the small processes. We've won some crucial games to go ahead of the pack in the middle. Just one change - Moeen isn't available, Santner replaces him."
Chennai Super Kings Playing XI: Rachin Ravindra, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Daryl Mitchell, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Simarjeet Singh, Maheesh Theekshana.
Chennai Super Kings Impact Subs: Shivam Dube, Sameer Rizvi, Prashant Solanki, Shaik Rasheed, Mukesh Choudhary.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Playing XI: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Karn Sharma, Yash Dayal, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Siraj.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Impact Subs: Swapnil Singh, Anuj Rawat, Suyash Prabhudessai, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Himanshu Sharma.
