Chennai, Mar 21 (IANS): When the two powerhouses of the tournament, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings, meet in the opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 here on Friday, the focus will be on former India captain Virat Kohli, who is making his return to competitive cricket after missing the South Africa series for the birth of his son.

Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden believes CSK will have to get Kohli out within in the Power-play if they have to do well in the IPL opener. Hayden spoke on Virat Kohli’s form at the Chepauk Stadium and how the pitch behaves in comparison with the Chinnaswamy.

“One thing is for certain, it's a blockbuster showdown. Virat Kohli this year is going to be celebrated across all the games. His record is a 30 average at Chepauk stadium with a strike rate of 111. You know what that means? For someone like Virat, even the greatness of Virat has been reduced in terms of his overall performance at that venue," said Matthew Hayden, speaking exclusively to Star Sports on the IPL curtain raiser show.

"It is a tricky venue to bat on, especially as an opening batsman. It gets a weird tennis ball-type bounce, and it's quite slow and difficult to play shots early, but the longer you bat, the game opens up and that's where Virat can be at his most dangerous. If he is prepared to bat the 20 overs, he can put together a match-winning performance. (A score of) 200 is very accessible at Chinnaswamy but not necessarily at Chepauk Stadium," he said.

"A 150, 130 at times has been plenty of runs when you get guys as good as Jadeja there who bowls stump to stump with the odd ball to turn and the oddball that stays low, it's really tricky, so they're going to need Virat Kohli out early inside the powerplay. They've done so thrice over the last 5 innings, and they'll need to do so for the 4th time,” Hayden told Star Sports.

As cricket enthusiasts eagerly await the kickoff, renowned former cricketers provided exclusive insights to Star Sports on the Game Plan show, shedding light on key strategies, player form, and the tantalizing prospect of a future captain for CSK.

The much-anticipated opening encounter of the IPL 2024 between CSK and RCB has garnered significant attention, with StarCast providing exclusive insights into the strategies and dynamics at play.

Speaking exclusively to Star Sports on the IPL curtain raiser show, former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh spoke on the tactics which RCB may have to apply this season to win games.

“Chinnaswamy (Stadium) is a batting paradise, there’s no doubt about it. But you need to get people out to win games. With RCB, if you look at their side, they have always had batting. But the problem with RCB has been the bowling," he said.

"The best thing you can do this season, if they are batting first, doesn’t matter, look to get 230, 240, and yes, it’s not possible every time, but with the kind of batting line-up they have, they must target at least 220 or 230, because a 20-run margin can probably win them more number of games. Not to forget, they have to rely on their bowlers to get the important wickets in the first six overs,” said Harbhajan.

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif spoke on whether M.S. Dhoni would change his role in the batting lineup this season.

“No, I don't think he's going to change that. Dhoni likes to play at the end. In fact, he would prefer that he didn't get to bat only because they have players like Conway, Rahane, Dube, and Jadeja who hit 10 runs in two balls in the final. Dhoni's role has become that of a mentor, as a captain, for the team selection, player development, and forming tactics,” he said.

Kaif also spoke about the scintillating form that Kohli is in the recent past. “Virat's form is brilliant. I don't remember the last time he played so well for so long. Yeah, he is a big player, but in the last two years, he's been amazing. In the World Cup, he became the player of the tournament and the hunger and desire to score runs make him a big player," he said.

"We already know he's a great player, but every innings, he wants to play a match-winning innings, and make the team win whether it's for India or RCB. This hunger has been self-made and now that he's come back from a break, he'll be fresh for the IPL and his form and strike rate, whether you look at it in the World Cup or IPL, he's hitting fours and sixes whenever he feels like. So he knows how to up his strike rate and he's doing it very well,” said Kaif.