As Chennai Super Kings prepares to take on Rajasthan Royals in its final home league match at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on May 12, the atmosphere will be feverish for more than one reason.
First, it is an afternoon game in the middle of peak summer here, and the mercury has been soaring for a while now. More importantly, CSK is facing the heat after its 35-run loss to Gujarat Titans on Friday and might need to win its remaining two games to qualify for the Playoffs.
But beyond these considerations, the stakes are high because there is a sense of foreboding surrounding this clash. It is a question that is on everybody’s lips. Could this be M.S. Dhoni’s last time in Chennai? A few years ago, the former India skipper had said he wanted to end his T20 career in Chennai.
With the city set to host the last two playoff games (Qualifier-2 and Final), fans will hope it won’t be the case. A win for CSK brightens its chances of finishing in the top four and gives the fans another opportunity to see their favourite cricketer.
However, it will be challenging for the misfiring Super Kings against a strong Royals. The constant changes haven’t helped, and the defending champion will hope the players can raise their levels and sign off in style at home.
Meanwhile, Sanju Samson’s side, which needed just one win to seal its qualification, stumbled in the last two games against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals. While the lack of runs from the middle-order is a concern, Royals has enough firepower with bat and ball to extend its four-match winning streak against CSK.
Squads:
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Aravelly Avanish, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, RS Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Nishant Sindhu, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki, Shardul Thakur, Maheesh Theekshana, Sameer Rizvi.
Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan, Rovman Powell, Shubham Dubey, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Abid Mushtaq, Nandre Burger, Tanush Kotian, Keshav Maharaj.
Match starts: 3.30 p.m. IST
