‘Vathi is here’ - Sanju Samson poses with MS Dhoni ahead of clash against CSK

The 17th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 features a heavyweight clash between the four-time champions Chennai Super Kings and the in-form Sanju Samson-led side, Rajasthan Royals. Both sides will face each other at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday, April 12.

Super Kings and Royals have faced each other on 27 occasions before, with CSK having the upper hand with 15 victories compared to RR winning on 12 occasions. Currently, in the ongoing season, CSK are placed in the fifth spot in the IPL points table owing to a lower run rate while RR are comfortably sitting at the second position. Considering both sides have shown good form at the ongoing T20 carnival, it will be interesting to see how the visitors will fare against the yellow army in Chepauk.

Ahead of the game, skipper Sanju Samson took to Instagram to post a picture with Chennai captain MS Dhoni. Samson captioned the post, ‘Vathi is here’ (teacher is here). Fans buzzed with excitement seeing Samson’s heartwarming post, which made the wait for the game to start even harder.

Rajasthan Royals aim to register their third win of the IPL 2023

Rajasthan Royals put in an excellent performance at the IPL 2022, and the side has followed it up with similar performances in the ongoing tournament as well. They played their first game of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad, where they registered a win in fabulous fashion. On the contrary, after a horrid previous season, Super Kings hoped to put in a better performance in the ongoing season.

Albeit, CSK began their IPL campaign with a loss against the defending champions (GT). Thereafter, they made a great comeback by winning their next two games against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and the Mumbai Indians (MI), respectively. While speaking of RR, after triumphing over the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), they continued their winning ways against the Delhi Capitals (DC) as well, while conceding a loss against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in a close encounter.

Therefore, the Sanju Samson-led side after losing the final of the IPL 2022 in a rather heartbreaking fashion, Rajasthan will be keen to continue their winning momentum in the ongoing season and will hope to go all the way for title contention.