IPL 2022 is just hours away and the 15th edition of the most celebrated cricket league is all set to commence on Saturday - March 26 in Mumbai. In what has become a resurgence of rivalry, defending champions Chennai Super Kings will be taking on Kolkata Knight Riders in the season opener at 7.30 pm. With Jadeja getting ready to come to the middle for the toss, the Chennai fans would be witnessing the first season after MS Dhoni relinquishing CSK's captaincy.

The crucial transition will have a greater impact on the team as Super Kings will be battling with the brand new Knight Riders led by Shreyas Iyer. As two new teams - Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants are making their debut in the current season, it would be the first time in history where the teams are divided into two groups. It will also be the first season for Chennai after the team has released Raina from the squad and the iconic batsman went unsold in the mega auction. 

The two teams will be battling under new leadership and they will continue the fight from where they left. Yes, Chennai Super Kings had defeated Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2021 finals and lifted the title for the fourth time. They will now be facing as the openers of IPL 2022 where the Knight Riders will aim to pay back the Super Kings. As the new captain, Jadeja will be facing the challenge of forming a stable bowling line-up in the absence of Deepak Chahar and Moeen Ali, who would miss the match due to visa issues.

It has been reported that Moeen Ali has arrived in India and he will be joining the Super Kings playing squad from the second game on March 31 after undergoing quarantine for three days. The reports say that a New Zealander, Devon Conway might replace Moeen Ali to make his IPL debut in today's match. Undeniably, Faf du Plessis will be a great miss for CSK as he has now been bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore as their new captain, replacing Virat Kohli. 

So, for the Indian fans, this season has bidden a farewell for Dhoni's and Kohli's IPL captaincy. CSK's middle order is powered by MS Dhoni, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, and Dwayne Bravo. It must be noted that Chennai Super Kings had invested hugely in Deepak Chahar, but he will be missing the opening match owing to an injury and with a big overhaul, the fans are eagerly waiting to watch the playing XI. 

As per the reports, Chennai Super Kings will kick off the battle with the squad of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Devon Conway, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Chris Jordan, Adam Milne, and Rajvardhan. On the other hand, this is how the Knight Riders squad might look like - Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Sam Billings, Nitish Rana, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Shivam Mavi, Chamika Karunaratne, Varun Chakravarthy, and Umesh Yadav. 

Both the teams have strong names and as per the winning probability, Chennai Super Kings will defeat the Knight Riders and will begin the season with a victory. Arming the probability, the stats are in favour of the Super Kings. Overall, CSK and KKR had contested 28 matches head-to-head and CSK has won 18 matches while KKR has won nine matches. In the last five games, CSK has won four with good fixtures. The match will begin at 7.30 pm and will be hosted by Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.