IPL 2023: Royal Challengers Bangalore win toss, opt to bowl against Chennai Super Kings

Apr 17, 2023

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 17 : Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and opted to bowl against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Monday.
Faf du Plessis-led RCB outplayed Delhi Capitals across all departments in their previous game. On the other hand, CSK suffered a narrow three-run defeat at the hands of Rajasthan Royals.
CSK made one change in their playing XI as Matheesha Pathirana replaced Sisanda Magala.
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Faf du Plessis said at the time of toss that but 180-200 will be a nice target to chase.
"Incredible noise!! We will bowl first. I think the nature of pitches will turn, but 180-200 will be a nice target to chase. It is quite a small ground and the ball travels, the surface is good and a little bit of dew could help. No changes in our starting XI but got some tricks up our sleeve for the impact player," he said.
Dhoni said that winning the toss matters as M. Chinnaswamy's pitch favours batters, especially in the second innings.
"The toss does matter because this is a venue where it is difficult to contain batters in the second innings. And not to forget dew. I think what's important is not looking ahead, maybe 180-200 is a par score but we need to keep re-evaluating every 3-4 overs on where we stand and what would be a good total to get to. That is a better way to approach, rather than keeping a total in mind. One change - Magala is injured and Pathirana comes in. The good think is all the players who have come in to replace guys have performed well. But these injuries haven't been ideal, but that's what happens because the IPL comes at the end of the cricket season," MS Dhoni said.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik(w), Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Wayne Parnell, Vijaykumar Vyshak and Mohammed Siraj.
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w/c), Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana.