IPL 2019 RRvsCSK: Chennai opt to bowl, RR's 17-year-old Riyan Parag makes IPL debut

Coming to the toss, Dhoni won the toss and opted to bowl first against Rajasthan at Jaipur. While Chennai have a couple of changes, RR's 17-year-old Riyan Parag makes his debut in IPL

The formidable Chennai Super Kings, placed right at the top of the table are all set to lock horns with struggling Rajasthan Royals in Match 25 of the Indian Premier League on Thursday evening at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur. CSK have won one of two away matches this season. Royals, who have managed to get just one win from their five matches, are in desperate need to turn around their season. The one big worry for Dhoni is the form of Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu. Dew will once again play  be a huge factor at Jaipur, and therefore the impact rendered by the spinners in both the sides could have a significant  bearing on the match result. Coming to the toss, Dhoni won the toss and opted to bowl first against Rajasthan at Jaipur. Chennai team have a couple of changes, Harbhajan Singh and Scott (Kuggeleijn) won't be playing today as Mitchell Santner and Shardul Thakur replace them.

Heads is the call and heads it is. The @ChennaiIPL will bowl first against the @rajasthanroyals in Jaipur.#RRvCSK pic.twitter.com/3yVgNNoABb

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 11, 2019

After winning the toss Dhoni said," The wicket remains good over here, it's a ground that it's slightly difficult to defend. The awareness needs to be there, keeping an eye on the captain and being alert." Rajasthan skipper Rahane said that he was too looking to bat first. For Rajasthan, fit-again Sanju Samson returns, 17-year-old Riyan Parag makes his IPL debut and Unadkat is also back in the playing XI. "We were looking to bowl first as well. This looks a very different wicket than the one we played against KKR. Not really sure about the dew, we need to play good cricket and win those crunch moments.", said Rahane. Teams (Playing XI): Chennai Super Kings: Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (capt, wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir Rajasthan Royals: Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Jos Buttler (wk), Sanju Samson, Steven Smith, Rahul Tripathi, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Riyan Parag, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni