The Indian T20 carnival will kickoff on 26th March 2022. The ITL will begin with a blockbuster clash, as two teams that have won six ITL titles between them will clash with each other.
The Chennai side will take on the Kolkata outfit in the hugely awaited opening match of the tournament. The Chennai side will have a new leader for the 2022 edition of the ITL, as legendary cricketer, MS Dhoni announced that he will be stepping down as the skipper, just two days before the start of the tournament. Jadeja will now handle the captaincy duties of the Chennai outfit.
Kolkata too will have a new leader in charge as Shreyas Iyer has been roped in as the leader of the franchise. Chennai have continued to back their old timers and bought back most of their core players in the ITL mega auction.
Team combinations
Chennai
The batting will comprise of the core members like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu and of course MS Dhoni. Devon Conway and Shivam Dube are the new additions. Old timers Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, England cricketer Chris Jordan, youngster Rajvardhan Hangargekar and Kiwi recruit Adam Milne will complete the playing XI.
Probable XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja (C), Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (WK), Dwayne Bravo, Chris Jordan, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Adam Milne
Kolkata
The dynamic Venkatesh Iyer will open with Ajinkya Rahane. Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana and Sam Billings will come in at No.3, No.4 and No.5. Powerhouse Andre Russell will come in at No.6, while spinner Sunil Narine will occupy the No.7 slot. Shivam Mavi, Umesh Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy are the three Indian bowlers who are likely to feature in the side, while Tim Southee will be the specialist overseas bowling recruit.
Probable XI: Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer (C), Nitish Rana, Sam Billings, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Shivam Mavi, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy
Focus will be on
Ravindra Jadeja (Chennai)
It will be interesting to see how Jadeja fits into the role of leader of the Chennai side. Jadeja has enough experience under his belt and also has the guidance of MS Dhoni to fall back upon. Jadeja is also in good form with both bat and ball.
Venkatesh Iyer (Kolkata)
Venkatesh Iyer was in blazing form in the second half of the 2021 season of the ITL. The left hander scored 370 runs in the 10 innings he played in the ITL last year, and if Iyer gets going at the top, then Chennai will have some problems.
Pitch Report
The match will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The surface should have some spice in it for the bowlers. However, it shouldn’t last long. Given the history of the ground, this should be a high scoring game.
Head to Head
Matches – 26 Chennai – 17 Kolkata – 8 NR -1
Broadcast Details
TV – Star Sports
Live Streaming – Disney+Hotstar
Match Timings – 7:30 PM IST
