"Poor guy"- Fans troll Ajinkya Rahane after Shreyas Iyer forgets to mention his name at the toss

Amidst much fanfare, IPL 2022 began tonight with an exciting clash between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai will host this contest.

KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and without any hesitation, chose to field first on a typical Wankhede pitch, which looked like a belter. Veteran batter Ajinkya Rahane will make his KKR debut in this contest and will open the innings with Venkatesh Iyer.

CSK are missing the services of star all-rounder Moeen Ali for this game, as he is still in quarantine following his late arrival due to a visa delay.

Here are the playing XI's for the 1st IPL 2022 match.

CSK Playing XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja (c), Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (w), Dwayne Bravo, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tushar Deshpande

KKR Playing XI: Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Sam Billings (wk), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Sheldon Jackson, Umesh Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy

Also Check: IPL Live Score | IPL Points Table | IPL Schedule

Cricket fans around the globe were excited to witness the summer extravaganza IPL and conveyed the same through Twitter. Some noticed that Shreyas Iyer forgot to mention Ajinkya Rahane during the toss and took to social media to discuss the same.

Here are some of the best reactions:

"Can't wait to get started" - KKR all-rounder Andre Russell charged up for the IPL opener

KKR all-rounder Andre Russell expressed his excitement about the clash against CSK tonight. Last season, Russell had to miss the final against the same opposition due to an injury issue. He is now looking forward to making amends by performing well and assisting KKR's cause in today's game.

Speaking to the broadcast before the game, Andre Russell opened up about his anticipation for IPL 2022 and said:

"I can't wait to get started, yes, it all came so quickly, arrival, the quarantine, everything happened, I'm happy that I'm here. I'm definitely trying to make up for whatever I missed in that finals, I'm looking forward to having a great game tonight. Hopefully, I can give what the fans are looking for."

Speaking about the new-look KKR squad, Russell added:

"This squad that we've got here is the balanced one. Everyone knows their roles when you have a team like this, the most important thing to have is the captain. Shreyas is a superstar, he boasts confidence, having a captain like him, no pressure, he's always humble and relaxed."

Across 28 games between KKR and CSK, the Chennai-based franchise has won 18 clashes while KKR ended up on the winning side on nine occasions.