Chennai Super Kings will start favourites when they face Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 opener at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday. The IPL will be a 10-team affair from this year with the entry of two new teams Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans.
Both CSK and KKR will be led by new captains this time. Shreyas Iyer replaced Eoin Morgan after Kolkata Knight Riders decided not to retain or buy back the Englishman. MS Dhoni did a Dhoni by giving up CSK captaincy on Friday and passing on the baton to Ravindra Jadeja.
The 40-year-old stepping aside has also put the spotlight on Jadeja, who will be captaining a high-profile team for the very first time. Jadeja, who has been with the franchise since 2012, will become the third player after Dhoni (190 matches) and Suresh Raina (five) to lead CSK.
On the other hand, Shreyas Iyer will become the sixth player to lead Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL. He played 87 matches for Delhi Capitals between 2015 and 2021 before KKR was bought him on a whopping sum of Rs 12.25 crore.
CSK vs KKR Head-To-Head
In all, CSK and KKR have faced 25 times with each other in the IPL with the former enjoying a 17-8 record in the competition. Last year, Chennai Super Kings met Kolkata Knight Riders thrice in the IPL, including the final. The 2021 IPL was held in India and UAE because of COVID-19.
CSK vs KKR In IPL 2021
** Chennai Super Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 18 runs at Mumbai
** Chennai Super Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 2 wickets at Abu Dhabi
** Chennai Super Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs at Dubai in the final
