During the 37th match of the ongoing 16th season of the Indian Premier League between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings in Jaipur, Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson has won the toss and chose to bat.
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“We would like to bat first. We like to stick to our strength, which is to defend. It feels really great to play Rajasthan Royals; 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 what the reason is [smiles],” Samson told host broadcaster Star Sports Network at the toss.
Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni remained unperturbed despite losing the toss because he was looking to bowl first at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium tonight.
“This pitch has decent pace but the average bounce is slightly less. We are trying to build characters in our team and make them believe in themselves,” Dhoni told Star Sports at the toss.
Why is Trent Boult Not Playing Today vs Chennai Super Kings?
The only change made across both the teams came from the hosts who have brought in spinner Adam Zampa for pacer Trent Boult. Although Samson didn’t provide the extent of the same, Boult will be missing this match due to a “niggle”.
Readers must note that it is for the second time when Boult is missing an IPL 2023 match because of a fitness issue. Co-incidentally, he hadn’t played an away fixture against Super Kings earlier this month.
Taking into consideration the nature of the pitch at this venue, it is not surprising to see a leg-spinner replacing a left-arm swing bowler. In the two matches that he has played this season, Zampa has dismissed a couple of batters at an average of 37.50, an economy rate of 9.37 and a strike rate of 24.
With pacers KM Asif and Kuldip Yadav among RR’s five substitutes, one expects one of them to participate as an Impact Player in the second innings. CSK, meanwhile, have once again made a swap between Ambati Rayudu and Akash Singh with the former most likely to bat in the second innings.
