CSK will try their best not to make it Chepauk's last Thala Dharisanam

When the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the schedule of the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) 2024 season, an old video of MS Dhoni from 2022 went viral around the same time on social media. 

That video is from an event of Indian Cements, the parent company of Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Dhoni is giving an emotional speech that people rarely see from him. 

“Chennai and Tamil Nadu talk about me a lot. Hopefully, my last T20 will be in Chennai,” he said. 

In 2008, ever since CSK selected him in the first auction, he has redefined fandom in a land that has taught the rest of India how to celebrate their superstars and throng theatres like temples on a festival. 

Mathematically speaking, it’s possible that this upcoming clash of CSK against the table toppers Rajasthan Royals could be Dhoni’s last game at Chepauk. Chennai are still on 12 points after 12 games, and just plainly speaking, they can’t afford to lose both their remaining games. 

Sadly, there’s a lot that’s not going in favour of the Super Kings at the moment as the front line of their bowling attack is either injured or absent, and they had to suffer through a proper onslaught from Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill in their last game. 

Meanwhile, Rajasthan did lose their last game against Delhi by 20 runs, but they are sitting pretty at the top with 16 points and are qualified for all practical purposes. 

Last game, they tried out Shubham Dubey, and you can expect him to continue playing today as well, as RR would look to fine-tune their team combination going into the playoffs with the English players leaving early. 

CSK vs RR Head-to-Head 

Overall: Matches 29| CSK 15| RR 14

At Chepauk: Matches 8| CSK 6| RR 2

The Royals have won their last four matches against the Super Kings. 

Venue details and weather conditions 

Chepauk has been primarily a win-the-toss and bowl-first ground, as the average winning first innings score has been 209/5 in IPL 2024. What’s even more surprising is that spinners have struggled to pick wickets here, averaging 36.6 and striking only every 29.4 deliveries. 

The weather will remain hot and cloudy at night. There’s no prediction of rain during the game time. 

Things to watch out for 

Ruturaj Gaikwad is absolutely killing it at Chepauk

Four out of his five 50-plus scores have come while batting at Chepauk, and he’s averaging 99 at a strike rate of 146 there this season.  

Gaikwad has stepped up in home games this season massively, and yet again, CSK would hope that their skipper plays a big knock in what is a very crucial game for his side. This becomes even more important when you consider how CSK’s opening pair has failed to fire consistently despite the multiple candidates tried there. 

The situation is so bad that CSK’s opening partnership has the least runs (268), average (22.3) and strike rate (129) among all opening pairs this season. 

Can Chepauk get one final Dhoni show?

MS Dhoni is having great fun batting low down the order for CSK. Coach Stephen Fleming mentioned in a press conference that they look to get Dhoni out to bat in the last 3-4 overs as he can have maximum impact from there along with managing his dicey fitness. 

The good thing is that not only has Dhoni not been a burden, but he has one of the highest strike rates in the last five overs, which is exactly where he has earned his bread and butter as a finisher. 

Before he fades away, he’s still showing what he’s capable of by having the highest boundary percentage in overs 16-20 (85.2%). So Chepauk, ready for one last Thala Dharisanam? Or you’d hope not, of course, as hope never dies. Not until Dhoni is at the crease. 

Probable XIs 

Chennai Super Kings: Ajinkya Rahane (IP), Rachin Ravindra, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Daryl Mitchell, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Mitch Santner, Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Simarjeet Singh 

Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler (IP), Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Shubham Dubey, Rovman Powell, Donovan Ferreira, R. Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sandeep Sharma 

Streaming and Telecast details 

The match will begin at 3:30 PM and be shown on Jio Cinema and Star Sports.