KKR opt to bat in crucial clash vs CSK as Eden awaits Dhoni's possible farewell

Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and elected to bat against Chennai Super Kings in their mustwin Indian Premier League match on WednesdayThe defending champions who need to win all their remaining matches to stay in the race for the playoffs have made one change with Manish Pandey coming in for Venkatesh Iyer who has stitches on his handIt is a doordie game for KKR who must win all their remaining three matches to stay in playoffs contention the match will be more about celebrating Dhonis legacy than the resultKKR currently have 11 points and winning all three of their remaining games will take them to 17 Even then qualification could come down to net runrate and other resultsKKRs remaining fixtures against Sunrisers Hyderabad and RCB both away are tricky Coming off a thrilling onerun win over Rajasthan Royals KKR will look to build on that momentumAndre Russells return to form was crucial in that game and the Ajinkya Rahaneled KKR will hope that Venkatesh Iyer who has been under scrutiny for his Rs 2375crore price tag can also find his rhythm possibly drawing inspiration from the Jamaicans explosive unbeaten fiftyRussells matchup against spinners will be important especially with CSK likely to use Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin on a surface that offers a bit of gripMeanwhile CSK who are out of playoff contention have brought in Devon Conway and Urvil Patel in place of Shaik Rasheed and Sam CurranWhile fivetime champions CSK are already out of the playoff race Dhoni remains at the helm and his presence alone is expected to turn Eden yellow despite the match being on KKRs home turfFor a city where Dhoni has deep personal ties his inlaws live here and it is where he played much of his junior cricket Wednesday could end up being emotionally charged for both the 43yearold and his fansThe Eden Gardens has witnessed many of Dhonis milestones from his maiden firstclass century to two of his six Test hundredsHe has also played club cricket here including a memorable P Sen Trophy final for Shambazar ClubSo when the iconic No7 walks out on May 7 many will wonder if its the last time Dhoni plays at this historic venueDhoni who took responsibility for CSKs narrow tworun loss to RCB in their previous match is no longer the dominant force he once wasDespite being in a strong position at 1722 while chasing 214 CSK fell short in the final overDhoni was dismissed by Yash Dayal off the third ball of the last over managing 12 runs off 8 balls He later took the blame for the lossBut for the fans Dhoni is still an emotion and a strong one at thatTeamsKolkata Knight Riders Rahmanullah Gurbaz w Sunil Narine Ajinkya Rahane c Angkrish Raghuvanshi Manish Pandey Andre Russell Rinku Singh Moeen Ali Ramandeep Singh Vaibhav Arora Varun ChakaravarthyChennai Super Kings Ayush Mhatre Urvil Patel Devon Conway Ravindra Jadeja Dewald Brevis Ravichandran Ashwin MS Dhoni wc Anshul Kamboj Noor Ahmad Khaleel Ahmed Matheesha PathiranaatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params