WELCOME BACK! India’s biggest Cricket festive “Indian Premier League”, which was postponed due to Covid-19 wrath is now back. The remainder of the IPL will be played in UAE from 19th September to 15th October.
Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings is one of the biggest rivalry in the T/20 leagues and it is even compared to the El Clasico, the rivalry between these two teams will be revived tonight when Mumbai Indians take over Chennai Super Kings at Dubai. Having waited so long for the second half to begin, what can be a better sight than this for the exuberant fans as both these successful giants will clash against each other on Sunday evening.
Well, this is the contest where you expect high-quality cricket with high intensity, both the teams have quality players and of course match winners.
Indian Premier League Season: 14
Mumbai Indians takes on Chennai Super Kings
Courtesy : india.com
Venue and Time: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai at (19.30 IST)
Mumbai Indians: The defending champions are entering UAE where they won the previous edition. After outmuscling CSK in their last meeting, Mumbai will now look to carry forward the form and dominate over CSK, as Mumbai Indians got the better of CSK on 7 occasions in their last 8 outings. The skipper Rohit Sharma himself is the top scorer for the team with 250 runs so far in the IPL. His partner Quinton De Kock hasn’t been up to the mark this season and has scored only 155 runs in 6 matches. The villain Kieron Pollard whose heroics (87 off 34) had laid the path for one of the greatest chases in the history of T/20 cricket, is the third-highest run-getter with 168 runs at an average of 56 and a strike rate of 171.42. However, previous edition stars, Surya Kumar Yadav and Pandya brothers have been inconsistent and that’s been a concern for Mumbai. Hardik in particular has failed miserably in this IPL so far, he has scored only 52 runs in 6 innings at an average of 8.66. Mumbai's middle order was their major strength in the previous edition which will now need to figure out a way to get the form back, although the promotion of Krunal up the order seemed to have worked. But what Ishan Kishan did last year for Mumbai in those slow pitches is something that may restamp his place in the squad. Meanwhile, the side that is powered by a pair of quicks Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah, who can shift the raw pace consistently into the 140+ brackets and those pinpoint yorkers at the death can do the damage as they played a vital role in winning the previous edition in UAE. Rahul Chahar is the highest wicket-taker for the MI side. He has picked 11 wickets at an average of 18.36 and an economy of 7.21. It will be interesting to see whether they go with a fourth overseas player or Jayant Yadav.
Chennai Super Kings: Dhoni & Co. who were shredded by Pollard in their previous game will have to be wary of Mumbai’s firepower. The side seems to get intimidated against Mumbai over the last few years. CSK started their 2021 IPL campaign with a bang, and we could sense that they got their groove back, but to justify their reputation they will have to spring the surprises on these sluggish pitches in UAE and simply forget the 2020 saga. Their openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis have been prominent members. Both the players have scored 196 and 320 respectively. Moeen Ali looked in sparkling touch with the bat for the CSK in this season. He is the second-highest scorer after Faf du Plessis with 206 runs with a brilliant strike rate of 157.25 and a terrific 34.33 average. Even Ambati Rayudu has been filling their boots to some extent. Except for Raina, their top 5 players have all played their roles on different given occasions. Jadeja especially has scored 131 runs in 6 innings at an average of 131 and a tremendous strike rate of 161.72, who has also picked 6 wickets and has 9 dismissals (7 caught & 2 run-outs) to his name. The middle-order issue has been bolstered because of Jadeja for the way he has been contributing in the all 3 aspects by reinstating the true value of being an all-rounder. No doubt, why he is Dhoni’s special weapon. The bowling has been a weak link for the CSK, Deepak Chahar is the only man who stepped up with the bowl and no other bowler has been supportive enough. Having played here in the last season and of course well acquainted with the conditions, Dhoni's team will have to come stronger and play their A-game. Can they extract their revenge? We will have to wait and watch; it should be an enthralling one.
Expected Playing XI (MI): Quinton De Kock, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult.
Expected Playing XI (CSK): Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Ambati Raydu, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Lungi Ngidi, Shardul Thakur, Josh Hazlewood, Deepak Chahar.
Stats:
- Suresh Raina is the highest scorer against Mumbai Indians with 732 runs
- Rohit Sharma has scored 693 runs against CSK which is the most by a Mumbai Indians player.
- Jasprit Bumrah has a 6.7 Economy in UAE (Min 50 overs bowled)
- DJ Bravo is among the top CSK bowlers to have 32 scalps on his name against MI.
- Keiron Pollard has picked 18 wickets against CSK which is the most by current MI bowlers.
- Mumbai has hit 140 Boundaries since 2020 in IPL which is the most by a team.
- Surya Kumar Yadav is the only player to score 500+ runs with a strike rate of 150+ in the UAE.
- Chennai Super Kings have hit the most sixes (62) in the 2021 IPL so far.
Coincidences:
- MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma both these captains have won their maiden IPL and Champions League T20 in the same season (2010 Dhoni- Sharma 2013)
- Rohit Sharma and Faf Du Plessis have scored 153 runs each in the powerplay overs, both these players are the top scorers of their respective teams in this IPL so far.
Something you should know about
- Mumbai Indians holds the record of picking most fifers (3) in an IPL season (2011)
- Rohit Sharma is the only captain with a 50% win against all current opponents in IPL
- The highest strike rate against a bowler record belongs to Kieron Pollard for his 223 against Ravindra Jadeja (min 100 runs).
- Suresh Raina has hit 25 (4&6) against Piyush Chawla which is the most by any batsman against a bowler.
- Jasprit Bumrah will be playing his 100th IPL game tonight.
Updates:
- Robin Uthappa is likely to debut for CSK if Faf Du Plessis doesn’t get fit from his groin injury.
- Sam Curran will not be available for today’s match due to quarantine rules.
- Dwanye Bravo is unavailable for this game due to a groin injury.
Pitch report: Though the UAE pitches are known to be on sluggish sides, the Dubai international stadium has better batting pitches, the pitch should be better for the ones who bat first and should slow down as the game progresses, expect 160/170 score.
Predictions: The team winning the toss should bat first...
