Ruturaj Gaikwad: We are going to bowl first. I think it will play slightly better than the last game.

Chennai Super Kings have won the toss and have opted to field

It is toss time..

"There he is. Bhuvi comes in and straight away goes to the two ends to mark his run-up," informs Kaushik. "Now, Matheesha Pathirana is marking his run-up!" - with more team news.

Pitch Report | Danny Morrison and Matthew Hayden: "We are one pitch over from the other night on Sunday. So the dimensions have slightly changed - 70m and 63m square boundaries, 74m back downtown. It (pitch) does look really good. I was here last night and one of the things that I really noticed about this wicket is as the evening went on, I was here about 8 o'clock, there was quite a lot of dew, and what I was seeing in the surface was that these little patches here (around a good length) that haven't got a lot of grass on it, the ball was tending to grip a little bit. That'll be something that both captains will have to be aware of considering the frontline spinners. And off-pace deliveries (for the pacers). It's not going to be a 200+ type wicket, no way. Tonight's going to be a battle of attrition. If you get 160-170, that's a bowl of rice. If you want some curry on the side of it as well, you want 185, somewhere around that."

"The crowd erupts for the first time as Virat Kohli walks out with a bat in hand to take throwdowns," updates Kaushik. "Suresh Raina stands right behind him as he takes those throwdowns," he adds.

There's been a lot of change since the last season, more so at the Royal Challengers than the Super Kings. Rajat Patidar has taken over the captaincy from Faf du Plessis and was one of the three players retained before the mega auction along with Virat Kohli and Yash Dayal. Patidar led the new look RCB side to a comfortable win in the opening fixture against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders. The Super Kings managed to retain the core of the squad like they usually do and strengthened their bowling with the addition of Ashwin, Noor and Khaleel. The trio already showed their value as they helped the Super Kings win their first game against Mumbai Indians. There is also a massive home advantage for the team in yellow - they have not lost to the Challengers since 2008 and the scoreline at Chepauk is 8:1. Will that unbeaten streak continue? Or will RCB finally break their Chepauk rut? We shall find out in due course. But first toss and teams. Stay tuned..

"Good evening! The gates of Chepauk have been thrown open and a sea of No.7s in the yellow have flooded in already, two hours before match start. An early call, quite a lot of reds and No.18s in there, more than I can remember seeing at this venue." - pings Kaushik Rangarajan from the ground.

18:30 Local Time, 13:00 GMT: It is derby day in IPL 2025 - Chennai Super Kings are taking on Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Though the Super Kings have a superior head to head record, the games between these two sides are never short of drama and entertainment. Here's a flashback to IPL 2024 - It is match 68, both CSK and RCB are vying for the last playoff spot, CSK can afford to lose but by a certain margin, RCB need to win, 17 runs are needed off the final over for CSK to beat RCB through NRR, Dhoni and Jadeja are in the middle while Yash Dayal is the bowler, the first ball disappears for a 110-meter six but Dayal storms back to dismiss Dhoni, he holds his nerve and concedes just a single off the remaining four balls, RCB qualify, CSK are knocked out and denied a potential final at home. It was box office IPL. The scoreline might be 21:11 in favour of the Super Kings but this is not just another IPL game. Hello and welcome..

Preview by Kaushik Rangarajan

As start of seasons go, RCB couldn't have asked for a more varied or challenging pair of away battles than KKR and CSK back-to-back. The defending champions in Kolkata may have even been the easier of the two tests, given the true nature of the Eden Gardens pitch and the make up of RCB's line-up, littered with batters happier to hit pace through the line. Historically, even RCB's best sides have faltered on Chennai's slower, turning tracks, a struggle evident in their woeful record at the home of their big rivals: just one win in nine games.

Of RCB's top-eight in the IPL 2025 opener, only captain Rajat Patidar boasts a better strike-rate against spin than pace while Phil Salt and Jitesh Sharma come close to parity. While this makes them seem somewhat vulnerable against a high-quality attack featuring Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Noor Ahmad, the tradeoff is understandable. The line-up is built to maximise the seven home games in Bengaluru and the several other standardized, batting-friendly surfaces across the country.

Switch the disciplines around and the scales would appear to tilt further in CSK's favour and to their hopes of doubling down on their own start-of season schedule. RCB's spin attack features a left-arm spinner, an inexperienced legspinner and a part-time offspinner. While Krunal Pandya's defensive skills and numbers against left-handers are outstanding, he may be left to do a lot of heavy-lifting against a CSK top-seven that features four southpaws.

That said, the hosts didn't exactly shine with the bat against Mumbai, despite chasing a modest 155. And, early in the season might just be the best time for RCB to visit Chepauk, with the pitches yet to endure the full wrath of the summer sun. RCB have some vulnerabilities to poke at, while riding a rare feeling of optimism in a fixture that has seldom offered them much.

When: Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Match 8, IPL 2025, March 28, 19:30 IST

Where: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

What to expect: A little more balance between bat and ball. In the opening game here, 25 out of the 40 overs, including 14/20 in the second innings, were bowled by the spinners, who found little, but enough assistance. Teams will still want to chase with seven of the last 10 games played here, including four of the last five, won by teams batting second.

Head to Head: CSK 21 - 11 RCB. CSK also led 3-2 in games in the last cycle and haven't lost at Chepauk to RCB since the inaugural season in 2008.

Team News:

Chennai Super Kings

Injury & Availability: Matheesha Pathirana wasn't part of the match day squad against MI. Stephen Fleming said he was "progressing well" (from an unspecified injury) but he remains an unlikely starter for the game.

Tactics & Matchups: Ravichandran Ashwin has a good record against Patidar, the best-spin hitter in RCB's ranks. The offspinner has dismissed the RCB captain twice in 25 balls bowled at him while conceding at less than a run a ball.

Probable XII: Rahul Tripathi, Rachin Ravindra, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Shivam Dube, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Nathan Ellis, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Injury & Availability: Bhuvneshwar Kumar missed the season opener with an unspecified injury. Dinesh Karthik revealed that Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled two days out from the game and that he felt good. Bhuvneshwar also had a short bowling stint on match eve. His inclusion though might be a late call given it's still very early on in the tournament.

Tactics & Matchups:

Shivam Dube has an impressive record against RCB, having hit 234 runs at 158.11. Teams have invariably gone short and quick at him. RCB had mixed returns last year. While Alzarri Joseph didn't find great success with that ploy in Chennai, RCB effectively tied Dube down in the Chinnaswamy classic. Dube managed just three runs off nine deliveries against Lockie Ferguson and Cam Green before falling to a short ball eventually in a strange 15-ball knock for 7.

Probable XII: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt (wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Rasikh Dar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma

Did you know?

- Virat Kohli attempted a sweep once every five balls he faced from spin against KKR.

- Each of RCB's last four wins vs CSK (starting 2019), have come while defending totals.

- CSK had the worst average and scoring rate for openers in IPL 2024. The new pair of Rahul Tripathi and Rachin Ravindra didn't get off to the best starts against MI.

What they said:

"His game against spin has always been very good. I think his development over the 12 months has been excellent. His last game against RCB, ironically, was one of his best innings. Since then, he has contributed a number of runs for New Zealand in a really classy way, I thought his effort the other night was superb in terms of controlling the tempo of the game. He has got power and he has got street smarts. So, it's a nice combination." - Stephen Fleming heaped praise on Rachin Ravindra.

"I believe right now, he is batting as well as he has ever done. And you speak to him even today, just now as I came out... he wanted to work on one more shot. At this point of time, to work on one more shot tells you the hunger that he has in his mindset. He wants to just improve and keep raising the bar. So, he is a special player. And at this point of time, the way I see it, he is batting as confidently and as well as he has ever done in IPL." - Dinesh Karthik on Virat Kohli

Squads:

Chennai Super Kings Squad: Rachin Ravindra, Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda, Shivam Dube, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Nathan Ellis, Khaleel Ahmed, Vijay Shankar, Jamie Overton, Shreyas Gopal, Devon Conway, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Mukesh Choudhary, Anshul Kamboj, Matheesha Pathirana, Gurjapneet Singh, Shaik Rasheed, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Andre Siddarth C, Vansh Bedi

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Squad: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Rasikh Dar Salam, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Abhinandan Singh, Manoj Bhandage, Romario Shepherd, Swapnil Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Lungi Ngidi, Nuwan Thushara, Jacob Bethell, Mohit Rathee, Swastik Chikara