Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 1st Match - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Bursting the bubble

While we wait for the toss, our correspondent Kaushik has a piece on CSK and RCB's contrasting fortunes in the IPL. Have a read.

Build up

10 months since Chennai Super Kings made a remarkable return to the Indian Premier League by clinching the title, here we are, back in their den, to kickstart season number 12 of this iconic competition. No other domestic competition in this sport grabs eyeballs as much as the IPL does. This time, the tournament is seeing an early start as well. Is anyone complaining? I don't think so. This is afterall, the biggest carnival in the cricketing calendar every year.

Following an early auction, an endless discussion about workload management and player availability ahead of the World Cup, it's time to set sights on the pitch. And what a cracker to get the ball rolling! It is the clash of the two biggest stars in Indian cricket at the moment. MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli one more time. The defending champions Chennai Super Kings take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in what has always been billed as the southern derby. CSK have had the edge over RCB most of the time, enjoying a superior head-to-head record.

Will that change tonight? Super Kings played majority of their home games in Pune last season so the local crowd will be completely behind them tonight. It's sort of a homecoming this season for the defending champs. If the practice session clips doing the rounds on social media are anything to go by, RCB will have to brace themselves for a sea of yellow tonight despite the three stands still not being open at Chepauk.

The onus will be on Kohli and AB de Villiers once again and this time, they have added Shimron Hetmyer to the mix. It will be interesting to see how the surface behaves. If it's going to assist turn, then CSK will have a massive advantage given their strong spin attack. But remember, they were already billed as the dad's army last year and now, they have returned one year older. Can they replicate their feats? We will get a fair idea tonight. Welcome to the live blog for the tournament opener.