High anticipation, well-set stadium and nerve-wracking matches are surely going to be a common sight this summer as the IPL 2018 kick-starts from today at the Wankhede. Three-time title winners Mumbai Indians will be playing against the Chennai Super Kings post the opening ceremony, which will be only attended by MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma.

Ahead of this busy season, 8 captains of the IPL teams gathered in Mumbai to shoot the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ pledge. MS Dhoni -Chennai Super Kings, Gautam Gambhir- Delhi Daredevils, Kane Williamson- Sunrisers Hyderabad, R Ashwin- Kings XI Punjab, Ajinkya Rahane- Rajasthan Royals, Dinesh Karthik – Kolkata Knight Riders and Rohit Sharma - Mumbai Indians shot the spirit of cricket. The official page of the IPL shared the pictures of the shoot.

The first picture had MS Dhoni signing the captain’s bat sticker.

Look who's here!

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Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni having a chat

One for the collectors. What do you reckon the conversation is all about?

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R Ashwin and Dinesh Karthik catch up with each other.

R Ashwin and Dinesh Karthik (Photo Credit: instagram/dk00019)

Here’s Dhoni flexing his muscles.

The final picture had all the captains posing for a picture.

SET! #IPL

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Talking about the contest tonight, the fans can expect the game to go down the wire. Mumbai Indians could be the favourite considering the fact that the team has walked away with the champion’s title thrice. Also because MI has dominated Dhoni’s men on the last three occasions when they have come face-to-face. Even as a team Mumbai Indians will be looking forward to continuing their momentum the last in 2017, on the other, the Yellow Army will look to put their best in the IPL opener.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 07, 2018 12:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).