Chennai Super Kings fans turned up in numbers at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday, April 3, for their first home game of the Indian Premier League's 2026 season. At the toss, when broadcaster Ian Bishop was set to interview CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, the Chennai crowd gave a tremendous reception to their leader.

The noise when Ruturaj took the mic was so loud that Bishop was forced to halt the interview with the CSK captain. Gaikwad took a pause, soaked in the atmosphere, and then attempted to reply to Bishop's question.

Even after the noise dropped to around 30 per cent of what it was originally, the stadium was still loud enough for Bishop to struggle to hear Gaikwad. The commentator pulled the CSK captain closer and apologised, stating that he could not hear a thing Gaikwad was saying.

Bishop asked the captain what he thought of the pitch, given Punjab Kings had won the toss and sent CSK in to bat first.

"Well, I think, you know, for me it looks a bit on the drier side. And I don't think it will change too much. More often than not, it will remain the same. And, you know, it's the early part of April, so I don't think dew will be a key factor in the second innings. So I think runs on the board and definitely you can depend on this track," Ruturaj Gaikwad said after the delay.

Gaikwad mentioned that CSK had made one change to their line-up for their first home game, with Prashant Veer replacing Matt Henry.

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