Ipl 2018 at 'home' game in pune, csk bats first against rr; raina returns

1. IPL 2018: At 'home' game in Pune, CSK bats first against RR; Raina returns Chennai Super Kings (CSK) today play against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their first clash since returning after a two-year ban in the 2013 spot-fixing scandal. Get latest Vivo IPL 2018 updates here In today's match of VIVO Indian Premier League, Rajasthan Royals (RR) won the toss and put Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune. Both the teams will be fighting hard to climb up the IPL 2018 points table. Here are the squads for both the teams: Chennai Super Kings Playing XI: Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Sam Billings, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir, Changes: Suresh Raina replaces Murli Vijay. Karn Sharma replaces Harbhajan Singh Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane(c), Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w), Heinrich Klaasen, Stuart Binny, Krishnappa Gowtham, Shreyas

2. Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Ben Laughlin. Changes: H Klaasen replaces Darcy Short. Stuart Binny replaces Dhawal Kulkarni. Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the two franchises that are returning in Indian Premier League 2018 after serving a two-year ban in the aftermath of the 2013 spot-fixing scandal, will come face-to-face for the first time at Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune on April 20. After losing their previous Indian Premier League (IPL 2018) clash by a whisker, CSK will aim to start off with a win against Rajasthan Royals at their new home ground -- all Chennai matches have had to be moved out of their original home venue of Chepauk Stadium amid a political unrest over the Cauvery water-sharing issue. With two wins and two defeats, Ajinkya Rahane-led Rajasthan Royals are placed fifth with four points in Vivo IPL points table, while the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings also have an equal number of points after two wins from three matches, they are ranked fourth. A win at MCA Stadium will consolidate their position in the Vivo IPL points table. Rajasthan Royals, under new captain Ajinkya Rahane, had a bad start to the campaign but they did well later with two back-to-back wins, before Kolkata Knight Riders outclassed them by seven wickets in their previous match. On a slow wicket, Rajasthan Royals failed to stitch partnerships and ended up with a below-par total of 160-8 on the scoreboard, which KKR chased down with ease, losing just three wickets. Rajasthan Royals' mixed show in IPL 2018 so far has been a result of big guns misfiring at crucial junctures. Ben Stokes and Jaydev Undadkat are yet to make a mark in the IPL tournament, whereas D’Arcy Short looked clueless against spinners despite coming into IPL 2018 on the back of some fantastic form in the T20s. ALSO READ: IPL 2018: How KKR breached RR fortress to climb to the top of points table While Chennai Super Kings have been immensely entertaining in all the three games they have played so far -- having won the first two, and then Dhoni’s career-best IPL knock bringing them very close to a victory in their match against Kings XI Punjab. ALSO READ: On display in IPL 2018: The brutal beauty of Mahendra Singh Dhoni In their first match, against Mumbai Indians, Dwayne Bravo came to their rescue with a 30- ball 68 against. In the second, it was Sam Billings who gave the finishing touch to their superb run-chase against Kolkata Knight Riders in a high-scoring match. The biggest talking point, though, has been their 'new home'. About 1,000 CSK fans left for Pune from Chennai on Thursday by a special train to watch the match in Pune, thanks to an arrangement made by the franchise. But the CSK management will be more concerned about the nature of the surface that they will be playing on after stocking their side with spinners in order to take advantage of the Chennai track.