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

Twitter reactions to the first IPL game.

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:

Shreyas Forgot to take name of Rahane on toss, you just can't do that to him Iyer 😭 poor guy Rahane ! #CSKvsKKR

Even shreyas doesn’t wanna accept that rahane is playing

@FarziCricketer CSK might feel Rahane is making debut for them when this match ends

@dramebaazkid I hope Rahane bats for 20 overs

Csk's rahane bodied

@Goutam18_ thala and rahane can neutralise each other’s performances

#Rahane dropped from test side, but will be opening in T20.. #CSKvKKR https://t.co/YI9lPPB5KH

Rahane playing csk already won this match

No chance still for Rinku GOAT. Tbh out of Rahane and Sheldon, only one should have been playing..

@Shrutika_45_ Shreyas be like rahane to test khelta h na are aaj to t20 khel rha h😵

hoping no one steals rahane’s credit when he plays well for kkr today🥺💜

@ChennaiIPL 🥲💔🚶‍♂️
#CSKvKKR #CSK𓃬
#WhistlePodu
#IPL2022 https://t.co/Y4Ar7rimnO

"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.