IPL 2022, Match 1 Preview: CSK Face KKR In Season Opener

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) each other in the season opener of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, on Saturday. The match will kick-start a two-month cricket carnival which fans have been eagerly waiting for. It will also be a rematch of last year's final where CSK defeated KKR in the final.

In IPL 2022, CSK will be under a new captain with Ravindra Jadeja receiving the baton from MS Dhoni on Thursday. The defending champions will be without some of last season's star performers in the guise of Faf du Plessis, Shardul Thakur and Josh Hazlewood. Meanwhile, the side will also have some new faces with Devon Conway and Adam Milne joining ranks.

The franchise will be heavily reliant on the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dhoni, Jadeja and Ambati Rayudu in the upcoming game. Star all-rounder Moeen Ali will be missing the opener vs KKR.

KKR also have a new captain with Shreyas Iyer replacing Eoin Morgan as skipper. KKR purchased Iyer for a huge sum of Rs 12.25 crore during the mega auction this year. Even KKR will be without some crucial players, with the likes of Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi and Lockie Ferguson not a part of the squad anymore.

The likes of Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine will be crucial to KKR's ambitions this season.

Both sides have faced each other a total of 28 times, with CSK coming out on top with 18 wins. KKR have won nine times and one match ended as a no-result encounter.

Last season, both sides faced each other thrice and CSK came out on top in all occasions, including the IPL 2021 final.

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CSK defeated KKR by 27 runs in the final.

The season opener of IPL 2022 is scheduled to begin on 7:30 PM IST and both teams will be gunning