Defending champions Chennai Super Kings will take on the losing finalists of IPL 2021 in the opening game of IPL 2022. The match will be played at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
Four-time champions CSK will be led by new skipper Ravindra Jadeja, after their captain of 12 seasons MS Dhoni decided to relinquish captaincy. KKR, meanwhile, will be led by Shreyas Iyer, who previously captained the Delhi Capitals.
CSK vs KKR – Head to head total
KKR and CSK have played a total of 26 IPL games between them. The former have won eight of those, while the latter have been dominant with 17 wins. . In the last season, these two teams met thrice, including in the final, and CSK won all the three times.
The highest score posted by KKR against CSK is 202, while the highest score posted by CSK against KKR is 220. The lowest total posted by both teams against each other is 114 (CSK) and 108 (KKR)
Injury update and team news
CSK – Fast bowler Deepak Chahar is likely to miss the first five games of the season due to injury. South Africa’s Dwaine Pretorius and England’s Moeen Ali are also set to miss the first game.
KKR – For KKR, Pat Cummins and Aaron Finch will be unavailable for the first five games due to the on-going white-ball series against Pakistan.
Probable XI for both the teams
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja (c), Robin Uthappa, MS Dhoni (wk), Dwayne Bravo, Shivam Dube, Mitchell Santner, Chris Jordan, Tushar Deshpande
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Mohammad Nabi, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Sam Billings (wk), Tim Southee, Varun Chakravarthy, Umesh Yadav
Two players to watch out for from both teams
CSK – Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ravindra Jadeja
For CSK, the two players that could be match-winners are opening batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad and all-rounder and new skipper Ravindra Jadeja, Gaikwad was the highest run-scorer of IPL 2021 and will be looking to produce similar performances in IPL 2022. Jadeja, meanwhile, has served as CSK’s premium all-rounder since the 2012 season, and will be hoping that the team’s new era under his captaincy starts on a winning note.
KKR – Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer
As KKR begin their 2022 campaign, all eyes will be on new skipper Shreyas Iyer, who is a sensational T20 batsman. It can be noted that Iyer’s strike rate in the IPL over the years is not too impressive, but we have seen him fire on all cylinders in international cricket, most recently in the series against Sri Lanka. Another Iyer on whom KKR will bank upon for runs is opener Venkatesh Iyer, who was the trump card for the franchise in the second half of IPL 2022. He scored 370 runs in 10 matches at an average of 41.11 and a strike rate of 128.47, and was subsequently retained for the 2022 season.
Who will win the match between CSK and KKR?
While both the teams have enough firepower in its ranks, betwala predicts CSK to trump KKR in the IPL 2022 opener. The unavailability of Pat Cummins and Aaron Finch could make the Knights slightly vulnerable, and they do not have the kind of experience CSK players like Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Robin Uthappa, MS Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo bring to the table.
Where to watch the CSK vs KKR IPL 2022 match in India?
.The CSK vs KKR IPL 2022 match can be watched on the Star Sports Network in India at 7.30 PM IST. You can also watch the match online on the Hotstar app.
