CSK vs RCB Playing 11, IPL 2024: Matheesha Pathirana misses out, Rachin Ravindra to debut, Rajat Patidar returns

Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru Playing 11, IPL 2024: In the inaugural match of Indian Premier League 2024 Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on defending champions Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday. While MS Dhoni’s side has an opening slot to fix in the absence of Devon Conway Faf du Plessis-led RCB needs to sort out their spin combination.

Apart from that both teams have powerful batting line-ups which would blow any opposition on a given day. The likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, and a rejuvenated Ajinkya Rahane form the core of the batting line-up for CSK. As per RCB Virat Kohli, skipper Faf and Glenn Maxwell have done the heavy lifting in last season but the additions of Rajat Patidar and Cameron Green would give a bit more freedom at the top.

Here is the playing XI prediction

CSK to miss Pathirana

Pathirana’s death bowling last season was one of the major reasons behind CSK’s success. However, he is set to miss a few matches for the side early on due to a hamstring injury which is a big blow. However, they do have a replacement in Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman who too had an injury scare during the side’s T20I series against Sri Lanka. While he has joined the team in Chennai there is a question if he would start or not.

Rachin Ravindra to make his IPL debut

The Kiwi top-order batter had a fabulous ODI World Cup 2023 in India scoring 578 runs at an average of 64.22. In the absence of his international teammate, Rachin would be the perfect option to fill the opening slot. The left-hander is not only a competent player of pace bowling but also has shown he can go after the spinners which is an essential skill required for a batter to do well at Chepauk.

Rajat Patidar back for RCB

After scoring that jaw-dropping ton against Lucknow Super Giants in Eliminator of 2022 at the Eden Gardens it felt like RCB has found a solid Indian batter who can deliver consistently. However, due to injury, he missed the entirety of last season which handicapped Faf’s side due to the lack of a reliable middle-order bat in the middle and was one of the reasons behind their other poor campaign in 2023.

CSK Predicted XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rachin Ravindra, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c) (wk), Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mustafizur Rahman, Maheesh Theekshana

Substitute: Ajinkya Rahane

RCB Predicted XI: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Cameron Green, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lamror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Suyash Prabhudessai, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Siraj, Karn Sharma

Substitute: Akash Deep

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