Chennai, Apr 11: Moeen Ali was included in the playing eleven of defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as captain Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and elected to bowl first against the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Match 25 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Friday.

Both CSK and KKR are ranked ninth and sixth, respectively, in the points table, and come into Friday’s clash on the back of defeats in their respective last games to Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). After winning the toss, Rahane said all-rounder Moeen replaces left-arm fast-bowler Spencer Johnson in the playing eleven.

KKR’s move to bring Moeen in at Chepauk is a tactical one, considering CSK have left-handed batters in Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Shivam Dube, and Ravindra Jadeja. “There were a lot of positives from the last game. We as a team played really well.

"It is about improving each game. This looks like a good wicket, won't change much. We are batting deep, so that's why we look to bowl first and chase things down,” said Rahane.

CSK will now be led by veteran MS Dhoni after regular skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out of the rest of the competition due to a hairline fracture in the radial neck of his right elbow. Dhoni, who now holds the record for the oldest captain in IPL, said Rahul Tripathi comes in for Gaikwad, while Anshul Kamboj was brought in place of Mukesh Choudhary.

“We were looking to bat first. Quite a few occasions where we tried to chase it down, and what we realised is that the wicket slows down a bit, so if you don't get a good start, then the middle order comes under pressure. He (Gaikwad) is a very authentic batter, someone who looks to time the ball well. So, he will be a big miss.”

“It is important now, every game is important. We have lost too many matches, and now it is important to do the basics right - have dot balls, and take our catches. A couple of games we lost by big margins, but otherwise it was about the small things - about one over going for 20 runs.”

“Our batters are more authentic as batters, they won't slog everything. They just need to back their instincts. It is important to start well, get boundaries early on, and try to get a couple of early wickets as well,” he elaborated.

Friday’s match will be played on the black-soil pitch where CSK beat Mumbai Indians (MI) in their IPL 2025 opening game. The square boundaries stand at 68 and 65 meters respectively, while 80 meters is the distance to the straight boundary.

Playing XIs:

Chennai Super Kings: Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, and Khaleel Ahmed

Impact Substitutes: Matheesha Pathirana, Jamie Overton, Deepak Hooda, Shaik Rasheed, and Kamlesh Nagarkoti

Kolkata Knight Riders: Quinton de Kock (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Moeen Ali, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, and Varun Chakaravarthy

Impact Substitutes: Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Rovman Powell, Luvnith Sisodia, and Anukul Roy

--IANS

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