As captain Ruturaj Gaikwad came forward to speak, the noise made it nearly impossible for anyone to hear, creating a light-hearted but awkward delay.
Toss presenter Ian Bishop had to step closer to Gaikwad and eventually apologised for the delay. “I don’t know. I don’t know how long. Let me come closer. I apologise to the cameras,” he said. He added, “I’m sorry this is dragging on because of the noise and the cheering. I am sorry for not being able to hear you and for dragging this on.”
The moment highlighted just how passionate CSK fans are at their home ground.
Watch:
Meanwhile, PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bowl first, citing a fresh pitch and confidence from their previous win.
Gaikwad explained his team’s approach, especially the decision to open the batting himself. “That has been the key for CSK as a franchise… I felt nothing better than having Sanju and me open the batting. So that was just the thought process behind it,” he said.
He also spoke about the pitch conditions: “It looks a bit on the drier side. And I don’t think it will change too much… The dew will be a key factor in the second inning. So I think runs on the board and definitely you can defend on this track.”
Coming off a heavy loss in their first match, CSK are aiming to bounce back, while PBKS look to continue their winning momentum.
CSK vs PBKS playing XIs:
Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Punjab Kings Impact subs: Suryansh Shedge, Priyansh Arya, Vishnu Vinod, Pravin Dubey, Hemant Brar
Chennai Super Kings: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Ayush Mhatre, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Noor Ahmed, Matt Henry, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed.
Chennai Super Kings Impact subs: Jamie Overton, Rahul Chahar, Matthew Short, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Gurjapneet Singh.
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