Dhoni's CSK opt to bat; Karn, Billings return

Brad Hogg and Deep Dasgupta build up the match between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings (5:23)

Toss Chennai Super Kings chose to bat v Rajasthan Royals

With Chennai Super Kings looking to confirm their spot in the playoffs with an eighth win, their captain MS Dhoni chose to bat against Rajasthan Royals at Sawai Mansingh Stadium.

Royals’ bid for a playoff spot would take a big hit if Rahane’s men lose tonight. But a win for Royals would tie them on points with the fourth- and fifth-placed teams on the points table.

Both sides made two changes to their XIs. While Sam Billings and Karn Sharma returned for CSK, Royals added spinner-allrounder Ankit Sharma and debutant Prashant Chopra into their side. Chopra, a 25-year old opening batsman from Himachal Pradesh, recently scored a first-class triple-hundred on his 25th birthday.

Earlier this season in Pune, Shane Watson’s 57-ball 106 had helped CSK post 204 before Royals were all out for 140. In the recent past, CSK have won four of their last five games against Royals, and former players Ravindra Jadeja and Watson have shared all four Man-of-the-Match awards in those victories.

Rajasthan Royals: 1 Ajinkya Rahane (capt), 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Sanju Samson, 4 Ben Stokes, 5 Stuart Binny, 6 K Gowtham, 7 Prashant Chopra, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Jaydev Unadkat, 10 Ish Sodhi, 11 Ankit Sharma

Chennai Super Kings: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Ambati Rayudu, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Sam Billings, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 David Willey, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Karn Sharma, 11 Shardul Thakur