CSK vs RCB Match Preview- IPL 2024, Match 1

CSK take on RCB to kick off the IPL 2024 which is the 17th season of the cash-rich league. CSK along with Mumbai Indians have been the two most successful teams in IPL history with five titles each. Royal Challengers Bangalore, on the other hand, have promised more than delivered. 

Date and Venue

The CSK v RCB IPL 2024 match will be played at the Chepauk on March 22 from 8 pm IST. The match kicks off the IPL 2024 campaign overall and for these two teams as well. CSK plays four games in the first phase of IPL 2024, while RCB plays five. 

The IPL governing council has announced the schedule for the first 21 matches of the season between March 22 and April 7. Every team plays a minimum of three to five games in the first phase. The remaining schedule will be announced soon. 

Also read: CSK Playing 11 vs RCB- IPL 2024, Match 1

CSK vs RCB Match Preview- IPL 2024, Match 1

Chennai Super Kings 

In a shocking move that stunned the cricket fraternity, MS Dhoni stepped down as the CSK captain ahead of the season opener against RCB. Ruturaj Gaikwad was named the new Chennai Super Kings skipper. The former CSK skipper won the IPL title last year, is done with his knee surgery, and is back fit to lead the side. Chennai Super Kings bought six players in the auction. They bought the Kiwi pair of Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell. It was a homecoming of sorts for Shardul Thakur. Chennai also invested in Mustafizur Rahman, Sameer Rizvi, and wicketkeeper-batter Avanish Rao Aravelly. 

They have their core well retained with Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepaqk Chahar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Deepak Chahar. They will be missing Devon Conway who scored 672 runs for them last season due to a thumb injury. They have close to 70 percent success rate overall when playing at home.

CSK Squad 

MS Dhoni (c), Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Devon Conway, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Mandal, Mukesh Choudhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Mitchell Santner, Simarjeet Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana, Rachin Ravindra, Shardul Thakur, Daryl Mitchell, Sameer Rizvi, Mustafizur Rahman, Avanish Rao Aravelly. 

 Also Read: Watch: King returns! Virat Kohli begins training at Chinnaswamy Stadium ahead of IPL 2024

Royal Challengers Bangalore 

RCB set again looks like a batting-heavy unit and very thin on the spin. Karn Sharma is the only leg spinner in the side with Glenn Maxwell as the only spin option. Their batting very much depends on the core of Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, and Glenn Maxwell. They traded Cameron Green from Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2024 and he is also expected to play a crucial role for the side. It will be interesting to see how much he is used with the ball. 

Over the years, RCB had Yuzvendra Chahal, Wanindu Hasaranga and Harshal Patel. The franchise decided to release all three. Chahal was released ahead of IPL 2022 while Harshal and Hasaranga were released ahead of IPL 2024 auction. Both found different franchises as well. They also got rid of the Australian Josh Hazlewood. 

RCB does not possess a good record at the Cheapuk winning just one match against CSK. The RCB women’s team recently won the WPL title adding more pressure onto the men’s team to end their trophy drought as well heading into the season. 

RCB Squad 

Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan. 

Also read: RCB Playing 11 vs CSK- IPL 2024, Match 1

Key Battles

Virat Kohli vs Deepak Chahar 

Kohli is most likely to open the batting for RCB. He has been opening consistently since IPL 2022 for RCB. Dhoni will be smart enough to use Chchar against him. The pacer gets the ball to move early on in the powerplay and Kohli has always been susceptible to the moving ball. Chahar has dismissed Kohli once in the IPL. 

Glenn Maxwell vs Ravindra Jadeja 

Maxwell has played some of his best IPL knocks against Chennai Super Kings. However, spin has been his undoing against the opposition as well with Ravindra Jadeja dismissing him six times. Maxwell has scored 70 runs off him in 51 deliveries. 

Faf du Plessis vs Matheesha Pathirana 

Faf has looked to bat deep for RCB since he has joined the side in IPL 2022. He will have to face the likes of Matheesha Pathirana in the final overs. Given the pacer’s awkward action and pinpoint accuracy with his workers this will be a key battle. 

Key Players

Fr RCB, the trio of Kohli, Faf, and Maxwell are key with the bat. With the ball, Mohammed Siraj, Lockie Ferguson, Reece Topley, and Karn Sharma are key. 

For CSK, MS Dhoni is the key player. He manages his troops beautifully. The players respond to his call. Playing in Chennai, it will be MSD who will be calling the shots.

Weather and Pitch

The weather is expected to hold up pretty well. The match starts at 8 pm IST and the temperature will be in the 20s. There will be a lot of humidity in the weather with players expected to sweat a lot.

The Chepauk pitch will be a slow wicket. Historically, the teams who have batted first have been able to make the best use of the conditions. The pitch becomes even slower in the second half with chasing becoming an issue. The pitch will grip and turn. 

Conclusion

RCB have a lot of history to chance against CSK when they take them on in the IPL 2024 campaign opener. The RCB women’s team winning the WPL title will be all the more pressure now as Ravi Shastri said as the men’s team looks to end their 16-year wait.

Also Read: CSK in crisis? Michael Hussey drops huge update on MS Dhoni’s knee issues ahead of IPL 2024