Wherever MS Dhoni is playing in the the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 this time, the spectators seem to support him irrespective of whether it's Chennai Super Kings' home game or not. The 41-year-old legendary skipper has said that this is the 'last phase' of his career. According to several reports, this might be Dhoni's last IPL. He has already retired from international cricket. A few days ago at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, fans turned up in huge numbers to support Dhoni. In Jaipur on Thursday, in the CSK-Rajasthan Royals match, it was not different. RR skipper Sanju Samson, after winning the toss, commented on it.
"We would like to bat first. We like to stick to our strength, which is to defend. It feels really great to play RR's 200th game, feels great to be playing for 10 years. Would love to see some pink here today, but it's yellow and we know that the reason is (smiles). Boult misses out due to a niggle, Zampa is playing in his place," Sanju Samson said at the toss.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Sanju Samson won the toss and opted to bat first against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Thursday. CSK are at the top of the table with five wins, two losses and 10 points. They won their previous match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 49 runs. RR are in the third position in the points table with four wins and three losses. They have eight points and lost their last match to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by seven runs.
RR skipper Samson said at the toss the team is strong at defending its total.
CSK skipper MS Dhoni said the itch has a decent pace but the average bounce is slightly less. "We are trying to build characters in our team (bowlers) and make them believe in themselves. Same side for us."
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jason Holder, Adam Zampa, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w/c), Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana, Akash Singh.
With ANI inputs