IPL 2019 CSK vs KXIP: Chennai opt to bat with 3 changes

With this match, MS Dhoni makes his 150th IPL appearance for Chennai. Skipper Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat first against Punjab at Chepauk

It will be Dhoni’s ability to remain cool in challenging situations versus Ashwin’s aggressive approach when both skippers clash as Chennai Super Kings clash with Kings XI Punjab an IPL match in Chennai on Saturday. So far, both the teams have had a good season, having three wins each. While CSK has relied on a collective team effort to win, Ashwin-led KXIP has managed to win based on a match-winning performance by some key players in the team. With this match, MS Dhoni makes his 150th IPL appearance for Chennai. Skipper Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat first against Punjab at Chepauk.

.@msdhoni wins the toss and puts his team @ChennaiIPL in to bat first on a hot afternoon in Chennai. 🌞#CSKvKXIP pic.twitter.com/Hy7vW3www3

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 6, 2019

Chennai bowlers will be wary of Punjab's flamboyant West Indies opener Chris Gayle is back for KXIP in place of Hardus Viljoen and  Andrew Tye replaces Mujeeb. Gayle has achieved his fitness after recovering from a back injury. "We were looking to bat first as well. It looks really hard and hope it remains the same throughout the 40 overs. It's quite emotional to be honest. I am very happy to be back playing here in Chennai but I am looking forward to it", said Ashwin. Chennai has three changes in their team;  veteran spinner Harbhajan comes back into the playing XI, Faf gets his first game of the season and New Zealand's Kuggeleijn makes his IPL debut. Sitting out are the injured Dwayne Bravo, and Mohit Sharma and Shardul Thakur. After winning the toss, skipper Dhoni said," The wicket looks good to bat on initially, it's hard on the top. The wickets that we played on mostly were on the slower side. It's important to keep backing your strengths, irrespective of how many runs you're putting on the board." Teams: Kings XI Punjab (Playing XI): Lokesh Rahul(w), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Sarfaraz Khan, David Miller, Mandeep Singh, Sam Curran, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Scott Kuggeleijn, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir