Seventeen years is a long time. During the period, Chennai Super Kings went on to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) title on five occasions, despite being out of action due to a ban for two years, and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are still chasing the elusive trophy. The only common thread for the two franchises over all these years, is two stalwarts — Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli — the guiding forces on either side.

Amid all these, RCB will be banking on a positive start to their campaign in IPL 2025, and gear up to rewrite history when they take on a crafty CSK spin unit in a high-stakes face-off at Chepauk on Friday. It’s been 17 years since RCB last triumphed at this venue, a solitary win that came in the inaugural IPL season back in 2008.

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However, breaching the Super Kings’ fortress is no easy task. Built to dominate home conditions, CSK have once again assembled a potent spin trio tailor-made for the slow and gripping Chepauk surface. Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin — back in yellow via last year’s auction — and Afghanistan’s wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad formed a formidable unit in CSK’s win over Mumbai Indians, combining for five wickets across 11 overs.

As the surface is expected to retain its spin-friendly nature, RCB’s seasoned batting lineup will need to show more guile than brute force. Kohli, in particular, holds the key. While spin had troubled him in the past, the former RCB skipper has improved his game in recent years, adding sweep and slog-sweep options to his arsenal. That evolution will be crucial if RCB are to neutralize CSK’s spinners.

But Kohli can’t do it alone. The likes of Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar, Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma must all step up. A possible tweak to the XI could see Jacob Bethell, who offers a left-handed option and part-time spin, come in for Tim David, especially considering the conditions.

RCB will also monitor the fitness of experienced seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who missed their previous match due to a niggle. If fit, he could slot in ahead of Rasikh Salam to bolster the pace attack.

Meanwhile, Chennai will be hoping for a more complete effort from their batting unit. Though Rachin Ravindra and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad looked in good touch, the middle-order failed to click against Mumbai. CSK will look for stronger contributions from Shivam Dube, Deepak Hooda, and Sam Curran to build around their top-order base. And if the situation calls for it, MS Dhoni’s finishing prowess might once again come into play.

On the bowling front, CSK will keep a close watch on the fitness of Matheesha Pathirana. If the Sri Lankan speedster is ready, he could replace Nathan Ellis, adding another dimension to an already balanced attack.

Friday’s match sets the stage for a classic contest, one between RCB’s intent to snap the long-standing Chennai curse and CSK’s hunger to extend dominance on home turf.

Squads:

Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Matheesha Pathirana, Noor Ahmad, Ravichandran Ashwin, Devon Conway, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, Sam Curran, Shaik Rashid, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary, Deepak Hooda, Gurjanpreet Singh, Nathan Ellis, Jamie Overton, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishnan Ghosh, Shreyas Gopal, Vansh Bedi, Andre Siddarth.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Rajat Patidar (c), Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Rasikh Salam, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethel, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chhikara, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh, Mohit Rathee.