Chennai: The long wait for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 is almost over as MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) host Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the first match of the twelfth edition.
Also read: IPL 2019 teams, schedule, live streaming, match timings and all you need to know
The Yellow brigade had a dream return to the tournament last season as they clinched their third IPL trophy by beating Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the final. What’s more, this triumph came following a two-year ban from the tournament due to the IPL 2013 spot-fixing scandal.
Meanwhile, the Bengaluru franchise will be desperate for a win against their South Indian rivals- Kohli and co have not beaten the defending champions in the IPL since 2014, when they won by five wickets in Ranchi.
Statistically, matters look much worse for RCB as they are yet to register a win in Chepauk since 2008.
While the defending champions will look to start on a fresh note, it will be a whole new challenge for Kohli’s men, as they look for a playoff spot for the first time since 2016.
Head to head
Overall: CSK lead with 15 wins to RCB’s 7 (1 No result)
In Chennai: CSK lead with 6 wins to RCB’s 1
Squads
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (captain & wicketkeeper), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Murali Vijay, Kedar Jadhav, Sam Billings, Dhruv Shorey, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Rituraj Gaikwad, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Karn Sharma, Imran Tahir, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, K M Asif, David Willey, Deepak Chahar, N Jagadeesan, Mohit Sharma.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (captain), AB de Villiers, Parthiv Patel, Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Shivam Dube, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Washington Sundar, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Heinrich Klaasen, Moeen Ali, Colin de Grandhomme, Pawan Negi, Tim Southee, Akshdeep Nath, Milind Kumar, Gurkeerat Singh, Prayas Ray Barman, Kulwant Kejroliya, Navdeep Saini, Himmat Singh, Devdutt Padikkal.
Live telecast and timings:
The 12th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be telecast across various Star Sports channels.
Live streaming:
The matches can be viewed live on Hotstar.com or on the Hotstar app.
