There was a familiar burst of whistles around Chepauk when Ruturaj Gaikwad called correctly and – for the third time this IPL season – asked the opposition to bat first. “We’ll bowl first; the surface has been under cover and might do a bit,” he told the host broadcaster, sounding as calm as ever. His opposite number, Rishabh Pant, merely shrugged: “Same call from us, so no complaints.” Both camps had reason to fancy the new-ball spell, given two days of scattered rain in Chennai.
Key selections first. Lucknow Super Giants welcomed back Josh Inglis, restoring their preferred opening partnership with Mitchell Marsh and nudging youngster Arshin Kulkarni to the bench. Avesh Khan and the exciting quick Mayank Yadav sat in the dug-out as potential Impact substitutes – a useful safety net if the track turns out quicker than advertised.
Chennai Super Kings made one eyebrow-raising move. Despite bowling first they named Shivam Dube, ordinarily a middle-order hitter, in the starting XI, while left-arm seamer Gurjapneet Singh waited among the subs. The plan, one assumes, is to swap them once the chase begins, but it still felt a touch unconventional. Sarfaraz Khan, meanwhile, is tipped to slot in later should conditions demand extra batting depth.
Sunday’s backdrop carried its usual mash-up of cinema and cricket. A tune from the newly elected Tamil Nadu chief minister’s film career boomed out as the captains walked to the middle; the locals joined in with gusto. Without MS Dhoni – still recovering from his knee niggle – the contest for attention was always a little one-sided, the crowd clearly keener on the politicians’ playlist than on any pre-match pyrotechnics.
The surface itself spent plenty of time under tarpaulin this week, so there’s an expectation of early seam and, later on, a bit of grip for the spinners. Former India off-spinner Murali Kartik suggested on the television build-up that “170 should be competitive if the ball holds up,” though he added the usual Chepauk caveat: “It can skid on in the second innings once the dew arrives.”
Teams
Chennai Super Kings: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Akeal Hosein, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmed, Mukesh Choudhary.
Impact subs: Gurjapneet Singh, Prashant Veer, Matthew Short, Sarfaraz Khan, Akash Madhwal.
Lucknow Super Giants: Mitchell Marsh, Josh Inglis, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), Aiden Markram, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Himmat Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohammed Shami, Prince Yadav, Digvesh Rathi.
Impact subs: Mukul Choudhary, Avesh Khan, Abdul Samad, M Siddharth, Mayank Yadav.
CSK will back their varied attack – left-arm spin from Hosein, wrist-spin from Noor and a clutch of seamers – to exploit any early moisture. LSG, near full strength now Inglis is back, possess the heavier artillery up front. As ever, much could hinge on how many runs Marsh and Pooran can put away before that ball softens.
No fireworks in the build-up, then: just two captains agreeing the pitch is likely to frisk early, and a match-up that looks tidy on paper. Sometimes that’s all the hype you need.
