The twelfth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to begin on Saturday evening with a mouth-watering clash between two heavyweights - Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai.
While CSK come into the tournament as defending champions, RCB would look to shed the tag of perennial 'underachievers' as the big guns are yet to win their maiden title despite having a galaxy of stalwarts in their dugout.
Seven wins in 22 clashes against the Yellow Army is the testimony to RCB's dismal record against three-time IPL champs. With another season underway, RCB would look to end CSK's hegemony over them and get some revenge over their much-fancied opponents.
RCB once again looks to have the arsenal in both their batting and bowling armoury to upset the defending champions in the campaign opener. With seasoned stalwarts Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers back in the fold, RCB has added more muscle to their already strong batting with the inclusion of Windies hard-hitter Shimron Hetmyer, Aussie all-rounder Marcus Stoinis and Shivam Dube, one of India’s brightest batting talent in the recent auction in December.
Skipper Kohli who has been the lynch-pin of their batting shall once again don the opening hat alongside Parthiv Patel, making for an interesting left-right combination. Proteas batting genius De Villiers shall hold forth in the middle of the innings and would look to provide the impetus with his 360-degree stroke play in the company of Windies hard-hitting stroke player Shimron Hetymer who has very much looked the part in T20s. Meanwhile, new recruit Shivam Dube who was snapped up for Rs 5 crore in the IPL auction would be another destructive batting option in the middle order.
RCB have the firepower in the lower middle order with some explosive hitters in Colin De Grandhomme and Moeen Ali.
Pace spearhead Umesh Yadav who had a brilliant outing with Vidharbha in the Ranji season is expected to lead a loose seam attack in the company of Kiwi speedster Tim Southee, Aussie Nathan Coulter-Nile and Mohammad Siraj. On the Cheapuk pitch, which has been considered been a rank turner, Yuzvendra Chahal shall once again be the trump card in Kohli's bowling attack. Chahal has been the spin king for the Red brigade for the last couple of seasons. Another exciting prospect would be Washington Sundar who can bamboozle batsmen with his mixed bag of deliveries.
The adrenaline rush is already high among the cricket crazy nation and it would be a spectacle for fans to savour when Kohli and Dhoni captain their respective sides in the IPL opener. CSK vs RCB has always been dubbed the battle as Kohli's fire-brand aggression vs Dhoni's ice-cool temperament. One won't be wrong in concluding that the battle of contrasting styles between the two IPL heavyweights shall unfold later in the evening.