Sharjah: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) won the toss and elected to field against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) here at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the 35th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
While RCB will look to start afresh, CSK got a confidence-boosting 20-run win against defending champions Mumbai Indians on Sunday night.
Pitch Report: With multiple high-scoring games last year, the wicket seemed "patchy" this time to Kevin Pietersen and we might not be in for a high scoring contest.
At the toss, RCB captain Virat Kohli said, "Wicket looks nice and hard. Don't think it will change too much. We would've probably bowled as well. Few extra runs would be nice. We looked at the positives after the last game. You have to start over right over again, and it's probably good to get a knock early on. It was the right thing to happen to us at an early stage, wakes us up. It's an opportunity to play the cricket we want to play. Got in Saini for Sachin Baby. Jamieson is out Tim David is in."
CSK's skipper MS Dhoni said, "Small venue, few wet patches, and we have some dew last time we played here. No changes in the XI. Our last game was an incredible team effort with Rayudu injured. It was a special performance from the bat. Still, it was not a par score, so the bowlers kept us in with wickets. Ruturaj has been incredible, he is someone who plays authentic cricket shots. Not flashy, and yet can play those aerial shots. He gives you that extra bit of confidence. And when people stand up when we need it, it's a great suggestion of a player's character."
Teams:
Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Virat Kohli(c), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat(w), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Tim David, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood.
