Is Matheesha Pathirana playing today’s RCB vs CSK IPL 2024 match?

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will be without their speedster Matheesha Pathirana in the must-win IPL 2024 clash against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, May 18. A win here will take the defending champions into the all-important playoffs.

The contest is of utmost importance for both Chennai and Bengaluru, as the result of the fixture will determine who will occupy the vacant fourth spot in the top four. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) have already qualified.

However, CSK will miss the services of Pathirana, who has been sidelined due to a hamstring injury. The slingy pacer has flown back to Sri Lanka for his rehabilitation, hoping to regain full fitness ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup.

The 21-year-old was a pivotal cog in Chennai's bowling lineup. The talented youngster picked up 13 wickets in just six outings at an impressive economy rate of 7.68.

It is worth mentioning that Matheesha Pathirana missed the initial matches of the season as well after injuring his hamstring during Sri Lanka's three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in March.

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CSK win the toss and elect to bat first against RCB

Chennai skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad won the toss and elected to bat first in the crucial encounter against Bengaluru. Explaining his decision, here's what he said at the toss:

"We'll bowl first. The wicket looks good, conditions are overcast and we will look to make the most of the movement in the first 2-3 overs. It looks a bit damp, but we'll go with great intent. Every game in the IPL is must win, nothing changes for us, we'll take it ball-by-ball, try and win the small processes. We've won some crucial games to go ahead of the pack in the middle."

Here are the playing XIs for the RCB vs CSK clash:

RCB: Faf du Plessis(c), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik(w), Karn Sharma, Yash Dayal, Lockie Ferguson, and Mohammed Siraj.

CSK: Rachin Ravindra, Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Daryl Mitchell, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w), Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Simarjeet Singh, and Maheesh Theekshana.