IPL LIVE: MS Dhoni Loses Toss On CSK Captaincy Return; KKR Opt To Bowl

CSK vs KKR LIVE: Great fielding

Moeen Ali has taken the new ball from the other end. KKR looking to attack two left-handers with the off-spinner. Rachin Ravindra thought he’d got a boundary, but a superb piece of fielding by Rinku Singh at cover. Diving effort!

CSK 9/0 (1.4)

CSK vs KKR LIVE: Conway, 4!

First boundary for the men in yellow! Devon Conway offered width by Vaibhav Arora, and the Kiwi southpaw pounces on it. Frees his arms, glorious cover drive for 4. CSK need the two openers to contribute well.

CSK 5/0 (0.4)

CSK vs KKR LIVE: Conway, Ravindra to open

Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway come out to open for Chennai Super Kings. Expect Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana to take the new ball for Kolkata Knight Riders. CSK off the mark on ball 1, with Rachin.

CSK 1/0 (0.1)

IPL 2025 LIVE: What will be a good score?

Any score of 170 or more should be more than respectable. With sticky conditions, long boundaries and high quality spinners in both teams, this should be a hard-fought contest between two sides with similar strengths.

CSK vs KKR LIVE: Where will Dhoni bat?

MS Dhoni’s batting position is something that will cause debate today. Will be interesting to see whether he comes in to bat ahead of Jadeja today. Remember, he came in at No. 5 in the previous run chase.

CSK vs KKR LIVE: Pressure on CSK openers

Without Ruturaj Gaikwad, there will a lot of pressure on Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra to make a good start for Chennai Super Kings. With the middle order not in the best of form, this is a game where the openers must step up.

IPL 2025 LIVE: KKR Playing XI

Kolkata Knight Riders XI vs CSK: Quinton de Kock (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Moeen Ali, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Arora.

IPL 2025 LIVE: CSK Playing XI

Chennai Super Kings XI vs KKR: Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Shivam Dube, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni (c/wk), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmad, Matheesha Pathirana.

CSK vs KKR LIVE: What MS Dhoni said:

MS Dhoni at the toss: “We were looking to bat first. Ruturaj has something-elbow fracture. We have lost too many matches, and it is important to do the basics right. Have dot balls, take our catches. Our batters are more authentic, they’re not sloggers. They need to back their instincts.”

CSK vs KKR LIVE: 2 changes for CSK!

Chennai Super Kings make two changes to their playing XI: Anshul Kamboj comes in for Mukesh Chaudhary and Rahul Tripathi comes in as a direct swap for Ruturaj Gaikwad. 

CSK vs KKR LIVE: Dhoni loses toss!

KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane has won the toss, and opted to bowl! MS Dhoni loses toss on his return as captain for Chennai Super Kings. KKR bring in Moeen Ali in place of Spencer Johnson in their playing XI.

CSK vs KKR LIVE: Here comes Dhoni!

MS Dhoni and Ajinkya Rahane are at the pitch for the toss. It will be interesting to see what is decided, and what changes are made.

IPL 2025 LIVE: CSK vs KKR toss in 10 minutes!

We are just 10 minutes away from seeing MS Dhoni walk out as captain once again for Chennai Super Kings. Ajinkya Rahane is expected to join him at the toss. The winner of the toss is expected to elect to bowl first.

CSK vs KKR LIVE: KKR Predicted XI

Here’s Kolkata Knight Riders’ probable XII vs CSK: Quinton de Kock (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Moeen Ali, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Arora.

CSK vs KKR LIVE: CSK Predicted XI

Here’s Chennai Super Kings’ probable XII vs KKR: Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Shivam Dube, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni (c/wk), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmad, Matheesha Pathirana.

CSK vs KKR LIVE: Any changes for KKR?

KKR have stuck with their tried-and-tested first XI for majority of the season, making very few changes despite the topsy-turvy form. However, ex-CSK player Moeen Ali might return to KKR’s XI looking at the spin-friendly conditions at Chepauk. In that case, Spencer Johnson would likely be left out.

CSK vs KKR LIVE: Any changes for CSK?

Apart from replacing Gaikwad, CSK may look to alter their bowling combination. The highly-rated Anshul Kamboj may be given a game, with Mukesh Chaudhary having failed to impress so far this season. The spin combination is likely to stay the same.

IPL 2025 LIVE: Who replaces Ruturaj Gaikwad?

Chennai Super Kings will have the big Ruturaj Gaikwad-sized hole to fill in their XI. Rahul Tripathi is the straight-forward choice, whilst Deepak Hooda may also be considered. CSK may also take a punt on uncapped powerhitter Vansh Bedi.

CSK vs KKR LIVE: Can KKR bounce back?

While CSK will be buoyed by the return of Dhoni as captain, KKR will be looking to return to winning ways. They fell short of a sensational chase of 239 by just 4 runs against LSG, and will be hoping to come back strongly today.

Led by Rahane, and boasting spinners like Narine and Chakravarthy, KKR could feel at home at Chepauk.

IPL 2025 LIVE: MS Dhoni on verge of two records

MS Dhoni can become the owner of two big records today, as he makes his comeback as CSK captain:

1) Oldest-ever IPL captain, breaking his own record

2) First ‘uncapped’ player to captain in IPL

CSK vs KKR LIVE: MS Dhoni is back!

In case you’re tuning in now, today marks the return of MS Dhoni as CSK captain, following an injury to Ruturaj Gaikwad. CSK have lost four matches in a row, and the onus is now on their most-successful son to turn things around yet again.

CSK vs KKR LIVE: Chepauk conditions

Today should be a closely-fought battle between two teams whose strengths suit the spin-friendly conditions at the Chepauk stadium. CSK have Noor, Jadeja and Ashwin, while KKR will likely go with Narine, Chakravarthy and ex-CSK player Mooen Ali.

CSK vs KKR LIVE: KKR’s out-of-form stars

KKR have retained many players of their title-winning core but many of them haven’t yet hit peak form. Sunil Narine looks less lethal with the ball, Andre Russell seems to have lost his form with the bat, and the likes of Venkatesh Iyer have blown hot and cold.

CSK vs KKR LIVE: Poor form of CSK stars

Several big-name CSK stars are in poor form. Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin, who cost the franchise a combined Rs 27.75 crore, have not been able to deliver their best form for the team this year. Even Rachin Ravindra has suffered a slump after a good start.

MS Dhoni will be hoping to get the best out of Jadeja and Ashwin starting today.

IPL LIVE: CSK vs KKR H2H

CSK hold a massive edge over KKR when it comes to the IPL head-to-head record of both teams. In 30 games, CSK have won 19, while KKR have won only 10. One much has finished in a no-result. At the Chepauk stadium, it is an 8-3 advantage for the team in yellow.

CSK vs KKR LIVE: KKR need a win too

CSK’s opponents tonight, reigning champs Kolkata Knight Riders, have had a topsy-turvy start to the season, winning every alternate game. They find themselves in 6th spot, having won twice and lost three. But facing CSK at Chepauk will be a tough battle for the Knight Riders.

CSK vs KKR LIVE: Retirement rumours put to bed

Surely, MS Dhoni’s return as captain puts any retirement rumours surrounding him to bed. With Dhoni’s parents attending CSK’s previous game, there was talk about him retiring. However, with Dhoni taking over as CSK captain, the retirement rumours can rest for now.

CSK vs KKR LIVE: Can Dhoni rescue CSK?

Chennai Super Kings have been in dreadful form in IPL 2025. After a narrow win over arch-rivals Mumbai Indians in their first match, CSK have lost 4 in a row, being completely outclassed in two of them. They are languishing in 9th spot on the IPL table, and desperately need a run of wins to keep their playoff hopes alive.

CSK vs KKR LIVE: MS Dhoni’s record

And in case you’ve forgotten, let’s take a look back at MS Dhoni’s remarkable captaincy record in IPL. 133 wins, 12 playoffs in 14 seasons, 10 finals, 5 titles, and the best win percentage of any captain who’s led in over 10 IPL games.

Simply ridiculous.

CSK vs KKR LIVE: Ruturaj Gaikwad’s injury

CSK’s regular captain Ruturaj Gaikwad has suffered a season-ending elbow injury, the franchise confirmed in a statement on Thursday. He had suffered a hit on the elbow when CSK took on RR, but it is unconfirmed whether that is the reason.

MS Dhoni has taken over as the captain for the rest of the year, instead of someone else being appointed.

CSK vs KKR LIVE: Two records for Dhoni?

With this return, Dhoni is set to create not one, but two records! Having been retained as an ‘uncapped’ player, he will become the first captain in IPL history to have an uncapped status and lead a franchise. Secondly, at 43 years, 9 months and 4 days old, MS Dhoni will break his own record of being the oldest captain in IPL history.

CSK vs KKR LIVE: MS Dhoni is back!

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is back as the captain of Chennai Super Kings. That is enough to make anyone hyped for today’s match. Unfortunately, Ruturaj Gaikwad has been confirmed to suffer a season-ending injury, and as a result, 43-year-old Dhoni takes over the reigns at CSK once more!

CSK vs KKR LIVE: Welcome!

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the IPL 2025 clash between five-time champions Chennai Super Kings and reigning champions Kolkata Knight Riders. Today is possibly the most anticipated match of the season!