CSK Vs KKR: Kolkata Knight Riders have won the toss, and opt to bowl first vs Chennai Super Kings in their IPL 2025 Match 25 fixture at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, on Friday, April 11.
MS Dhoni has returned to the helm of CSK as their skipper, for the first time since 2023 Final, after Ruturaj Gaikwad suffered an elbow injury which has ruled him out of the tournament.
Playing XI’s
Kolkata Knight Riders Playing XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh lyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Moeen Ali, Ramandeep Singh, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy
Chennai Super Kings Playing XI: Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c and wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj
Here’s What Both Skippers Said During Toss
Ajinkya Rahane (Kolkata Knight Riders Captain):
“We will bowl first. Absolutely. There were many positives in the last game. We lost by only four runs but it was a good game for us. It’s about improving each game. Assess the conditions and adapt quickly. I don’t think it will change that much. We are batting deep and we will look to chase it down. One change. Moeen Ali comes in place of Spencer Johnson.”
MS Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings Captain):
“We were looking to bat first. There were quite a few occasions where we thought of chasing down the totals but there wasn’t enough dew. So, if you don’t get a good start, the middle order comes under pressure.”
“(On Ruturaj Gaikwad) He has fractured his elbow. He is ruled out of the tournament. It’s not good to lose someone at the middle of the tournament. He is really pleasing to see. He is not somebody who slogs his runs. He maintains very good strike rate and plays good shots.”
“Well it is important to move ahead. We have lost too many games so far. We don’t want to lag too behind. We want to make the basics right. We want to build partnerships and also with the ball, try and bowl a few dots balls to put the batters under pressure. That’s what has been the difference. Yes, there has been a few games where we lost by a huge margin but we want to make a good comeback.”
“We want to do well in both the departments. We have batters who will bat really well and play authentic shots. We are not a side who will hit a lot of sixes. Rather, we will score more runs by hitting fours. It’s important for us to stick to our strength. So, we have a couple of changes. Ruturaj misses out and Tripathi comes in. Kamboj comes in for Mukesh.”
