Indian T20 League 2022: Chennai vs Kolkata – Match 1 : Preview, Playing XI, Pitch Report & Live streaming details

Amidst all the hype and frenzy, the fifteenth edition of the Indian T20 league is finally here. The tournament opener shall see Kolkata take on Chennai. It is to be noted that both of these teams had made it to the final of the 2021 edition, with the yellow army going on to win the title. Thus, this edition is expected to have an explosive start.

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Both teams would want to start their campaign on a winning note. Besides, this can help them get a positive momentum early on. Both the teams have several new faces owing to the mega auction. As a matter of fact, Kolkata have a new leader in the form of Shreyas Iyer. All eyes will be on the batter, as this is the first time he will play for a franchise other than Delhi.

As far as Chennai are concerned, they too have a leader, i.e. Ravindra Jadeja. MS Dhoni recently stepped down as the captain and handed over the leadership responsibilities to the all-rounder. However, the franchise still retained its core as many players who were with them in the previous edition are set to return.

To make matters more interesting, this game shall be taking place at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai. While it is the home ground of the local boy Iyer, Dhoni has some fond memories of this place well. The pitch is expected to be batting-friendly in nature. Thus, Saturday's game promises to be an absolute cracker of a contest.

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Team Combinations

Chennai:

The defending champions will be without the services of Moeen Ali due to his delayed arrival. This means that they will have to play a bowling all-rounder like Mitchell Santner or Chris Jordan in his place. The other three other overseas slots could be occupied by Devon Conway, Dwayne Bravo and Adam Milne. Another important point to be noted is that they won't be having the services of Deepak Chahar for this fixture as well.

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Probable XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Shivam Dube, Dwayne Bravo, Tushar Deshpande, Chris Jordan/Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne

Kolkata:

The two-time champions will have to either pick a local keeper-batter like Sheldon Jackson, or go with the overseas option in Sam Billings. As they don't have too many overseas batters available, they might as well select the Englishmen in the XI. In the absence of Pat Cummins, Tim Southee is expected to lead the pace attack. Other than that, Ajinkya Rahane could start in the XI as well.

Predicted XI: Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Sam Billings (wk), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shivam Mavi, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy

Focus will be on:

Ravindra Jadeja:

There is a lot of expectations from the new Chennai skipper. Keeping his leadership aside, the bowling all-rounder has been in superb form in the recent past. Moreover, he might be batting higher in the order this time around.

Andre Russell:

Andre Russell is Kolkata's heart. The Caribbean powerhouse can single-handedly win games on his day. Besides, the conditions might just suit him and thus, the fans could be treated to something special on Saturday.

Chennai vs Kolkata Head-to-Head

Played- 26, Chennai- 17, Kolkata Knight Riders- 8, N/R- 1

Broadcast Details:

Match Timings- 07:30 PM IST

TV- Star Sports Network

Live Streaming- Disney+Hotstar