A story that could have been written only for CSK, a story that needed a protagonist to rise from the ashes of defeat and then needed a hero at the end to put the finishing touches to the masterpiece; it was an IPL opener to remember.

Tottering at 84/6, CSK’s challenge had been wiped out, barring Bravo, who was standing tall, wielding his arms, wielding that bat and writing CSK’s script with skill, power and conviction.

And then there was Jadhav, nursing a hamstring, watching the great CSK debacle from the dugout and then getting on knee to hoick Mustaifizur for a six, followed by a four through the covers, to gift CSK one of the unlikeliest wins in the history of IPL.

Mumbai Indians would find it difficult to recover from this hangover but they are in familiar territory, aren’t they? They have been slow starters all along and maybe that’s how the Mumbai tank functions, it needs those those initial hiccups to feel alive.

CSK got out of jail today and will need a stronger batting performance in the upcoming games to have any hope of making it to the playoffs.

KXIP vs DD

Two franchises who haven’t really found their core in the 10 years of the IPL take on each other in their opening games of the 2018 campaign.

Both franchises have attack-minded captains and hence it promises to be a very feisty fixture, between two teams that would love to carve a new standing for themselves in the history of the competition.

Let’s get to business now!

IPL Fantasy League (Fantasy Tips for KXIP vs DD)

Transfer out: Rohit Sharma, Evin Lewis, Jasprit Bumrah, Deepak Chahar(uncapped)

Transfer in: Colin Munro, KL Rahul, Andrew Tye/Chris Morris, Shahbaz Nadeem

Now, I already have Mayank Agarwal, Trent Boult and Rishabh Pant in my side for this game.

Mayank Agarwal has been in the form of his life in the Indian domestic circuit and should be opening the batting unless Ashwin’s claim of making tailenders open comes true.

Boult will bowl upfront and during the death, peak times of getting a wicket and hence needs to be in our XI as he could run away with a few cheap wickets.

Rishabh Pant is a bit of a 50-50 call but I had to make it in the last game because my team was missing a wicketkeeper. He didn’t really set the ball rolling in the Nidahas trophy but could be very destructive on his day. Hopefully he does bring that to the fore today.

I’ll be making three changes for this game and although it is a little more than the available number of transfers per game, I am bringing in players who should be able to make a lot of impact and aren’t necessarily 50-50 calls.

You need to pick your games where you can cash in(and where others might not) and with two exciting and squads on display today, I think this is one game that could seem drab, given the history of the two franchises, however the new team set up almost guarantees a brilliant game.

Colin Munro is the first player that I get in. Munro has been in impeccable form for New Zealand in the shortest format of the game, having scored 1173 runs in 45 games at an average of 33.51 and striking them at 163+.

He was in red hot form during the tri- series in Australia and New Zealand and could absolutely set the ball rolling for the Delhi franchise who have been on the lookout for an explosive opener for so long.

Get him in!

Andrew Tye would be my second pick for this match. Tye’s cutters, back of the hand slower ones and knuckle balls have bamboozled batsman all over the world, so much so that he has 3 T20 hattricks to his name, one on debut in the IPL.

Tye has 16 wickets in 12 T20Is and has an average of just 25.12. In the IPL, the Australian has played just 6 games but has picked by 12 wickets, having an average of 11.75 and bowling miserly with an economy of just 6.71.

Get him in, who knows he could be getting his 4th T20 hattrick tomorrow!

With Chris Morris also in the mix, I would only bring in one from Morris and Tye, despite Tye possession a little more death bowling skills than Morris.

Morris could come in very handy lower down the order for DD and with Maxwell not playing, he could be given the role of the chief accelerator during the death.

Pick Morris if DD bowl first, as he could then display his full array of death bowling skills and pick Tye if KXIP bowl first(for the same reason)

For my last transfer for this game, I’ll be getting in KL Rahul, who would be itching to make this edition of the IPL his own. He has been on the fringes of cementing his side in the Indian team and despite being lauded by experts all round, he has somehow found a way to be left out of India’s ODI and T20 side.

Rahul would be hoping that a number 3 role with KXIP can revive his Indian career and help him fight for that number 4 spot that is still on offer for the 2019 World Cup.

For the uncapped player, I will bring in Shahbaz Nadeem . Nadeem has been a DD and IPL veteran, using his left arm spin to good effect during the powerplay. Against an attacking KXIP line up, Nadeem could use his guile and trickery to good effect.

With no other uncapped players of note, Nadeem is the best you can go with.

I haven’t opted for Stoinis or Miller for this game as I am not quite sure as to where these two will bat in the KXIP middle order. Stoinis does give you that bowling option as well, but I will wait and see as to how he is used by Ashwin

Match Powerplayer: Trent Boult(if DD bowl first)/Andrew Tye(if KXIP bowl first)

2nd innings powerplayer: KL Rahul(if KXIP bat second)/Colin Munro(if DD bat second)

Fandromeda (Fantasy Tips for KXIP vs DD)

Transfer out: Rohit Sharma, Evin Lewis, Imran Tahir, DJ Bravo

Transfer in: KL Rahul, Colin Munro, Andrew Tye/Chris Morris

Now, I already have Mayank Agarwal, Trent Boult and Rishabh Pant in my team for this game.

I’ll be making three transfers for this game, including the free transfer available, provided I make the Daily mode team for tomorrow.

Do yourself a favour and make that team right away because you absolutely do not want to miss out on the ‘privilege’ of getting that free sub.

Reasons for bringing in Rahul, Munro and Tye are mentioned in the IPL Fantasy section.

Chris Morris could be a good pick too and you could actually replace him for Tye if DD bowl first. Who knows, maybe a Bravo like innings could come in handy lower down the order for DD while chasing.

Now, if you want to go ahead with 4 transfers this early in the tournament, you could go in for Morris

Batting powerplayer: Colin Munro/KL Rahul(whoever bats first)

Bowling powerplayer: Chris Morris/Andrew Tye(whoever bowls first)

Happy Team picking!