IPL 2022: KKR win toss, opt to field against CSK in season opener

In the opening encounter of IPL 2022, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to field against Ravindra Jadeja-led Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday. 

Also Read: IPL 2022: SWOT analysis of Chennai Super Kings

With this clash, a full-fledged season of IPL returned to India after almost two years. Shreyas Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane and Sam Billings have made debuts for KKR.

Shreyas Iyer: We will bowl first. I am super excited. It is a great honour to don this jersey. The players who have been playing for this unit have been doing well. The track seems to be a belter and the dew will come in later and make it better. We are going in with three overseas players – Billings, Narine and Russell. Three of us got caps today. Myself, Billings and Rahane.

Ravindra Jadeja: Big shoes to fill in. Happy and excited for the new role. We are going with four foreign players. Conway, Bravo, Milne and Santner are our foreign players.

The entire 2020 edition of the cash-rich tournament and the second half of last year’s tournament were held in the United Arab Emirates as India grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also Read: IPL 2022: SWOT analysis of Kolkata Knight Riders

This season, Mumbai will host 55 matches in three venues – Wankhede Stadium, DY Patil Stadium and Brabourne Stadium – while Pune’s MCA Stadium will host the remaining 15 league matches. This means there will be no requirement for air travelling for the 10 teams. Unlike the previous two seasons, fans will be allowed to attend matches, but with a 25% occupancy limit as the COVID-19 pandemic is still a major challenge for the BCCI.

The IPL, which is by far the best T20 league in the world, is a global attraction because of its glitz and blitz. It is a tournament where all the best T20 players from across the world play. This season, the eight-team league will be expanded to 10 teams after Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans joined the tournament.

Also Read: IPL 2022: ‘Shreyas Iyer is the potential superstar of the game’

CSK, the winner of four IPL trophies, defeated KKR to clinch their fourth IPL title last year and Saturday’s season-opener will be a repeat of 2021 final.

Teams:

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer(c), Nitish Rana, Sam Billings(w), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Sheldon Jackson, Umesh Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja(c), Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni(w), Dwayne Bravo, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tushar Deshpande