Not many sides in the history of the Indian Premier League have played as many high-stake games as the Chennai Super Kings and the Mumbai Indians have played in their journey, and hence it is only fitting that the 14th edition of the league is being relaunched with a contest between the two sides led by MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma.
The Chennai Super Kings have won the IPL trophy on three occasions while the Mumbai Indians have been the indisputable kings of the competition winning the championship as many five times.
As they have been the best sides in multiple editions of the tournament, they have had the privilege of opening the competition on numerous occasions.
However, the game on September 19 in Dubai will be the first of its kind as never been in its history of 14 years that the IPL was stopped midway through the season and was split into two halves. These are unprecedented times and the IPL has not been spared either in two consecutive years.
When Dhoni and Rohit will walk out to the middle for the toss for the first time in UAE this year, it would be a triumph of the IPL after the long and hard shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic that had gripped both its present and future earlier this year.
MO-Factor and Super Kings’ grand comeback
MS Dhoni and his men struggled terribly in the last edition of the IPL as none of their main strengths such as the batting department and spinners was at the top of their game.
They struggled to contain the opposition batsmen with the ball while their batsmen were grappling with the loss of form and diminishing power to hit the ball out of the ground at will.
They showed some sparks towards the end of the season to win six games in the competition however it all came after the “ship” that had too many holes sank in the ocean.
There were obituaries written about their fate in the coming seasons if they were not to change their style of play and bring a massive change in personnel. MS Dhoni stuck with his trusted lieutenants and instead focussed on achieving the needful.
The results are there for everyone to witness as the Super Kings have made a stellar comeback in the 14th season winning five out of their first seven games.
The move to bring Moeen Ali at the top of the order along with an in-form Faf du Plessis has provided them significant enforcement at the top of the order which was their Achilles heels in the last season.
Moeen was at the top of his game with the ball as well and along with spinners such as Ravindra Jadeja and Karn Sharma formed a dependable lineup to give Dhoni wicket-taking opportunities in the middle phase of the games.
Mumbai’s different start, Hardik a concern
Rohit Sharma’s men have made a reputation of slow starters who stutter at the start of any season before transforming themselves into a beast and invincible side. They have had quite a bit of remarkable wins so far in the season and Rohit would hope the players will be fresh and ready to go with their best form from the word go.
However, they would be circumspect about the form of Hardik Pandya, who has been a constant force behind their always going up the journey in the recent past. He was completely out of sorts in the first half of the tournament on the slower and spinning pitches of Chennai and his fortunes did not change on India’s tour of Sri Lanka as well where he struggled to get his timing right.
He forms a formidable core of strength for the Mumbai side and with injury clouds over his bowling along with lacklustre form with the bat will make the men in blue significantly weaker in the business end of the tournament.
Match Details
Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians:
Match no.: 30
Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Time: 19:30 IST (14:00 GMT), 18:00 Local
Broadcast: Star Sports network, Disney +Hotstar
Pitch and weather
The pitch and the Dubai International Cricket Stadium offers stroke makers excellent opportunities to hit through the line while also keep the bowler in the game with good assistance to spinners in the middle phase of the game.
Boundaries will be of decent size and it will help the spinners in providing flight to the batsmen albeit that seems to be luxury with brutal six hitters against spinners on both sides.
There is no chance of rain in Dubai and humility at a level of 40 per cent will only come in handy for pace bowlers to swing the new Kookaburra ball.
Team News
CSK
The Super Kings will have to manage their plans in the first game of the revamped part without the duo of Faf du Plessis and Sam Curran. Curran arrived late in the biosecure bubble and undergoing quarantine while du Plessis has an injury concern will not play the first game.
Moeen Ali should be available to play and in all likelihood will accompany Ruturaj Gaikwad at the top of the order which will give Suresh Raina his old position of number three in the batting order. The middle-order picks itself with the trio of Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni with Dwayne Bravo and Shardul Thakur to follow.
The presence of Bravo, Shardul and also Deepak Chahar will give the Super Kings abetting depth and will allow the top order to bat freely.
Imran Thair should start in the playing XI with a toss-up between Lungi Ngidi and Josh Hazlewood as the only out-and-out pace bowler in the playing XI.
Probable XI
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, MS Dhoni (C& WK), Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir, Josh Hazlewood.
Mumbai Indians
The Mumbai Indians are a lot more settled side than the Super Kings and there are at best only two spots up for debate.
The batting order looks menacing with Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav forming the top order while the likes of Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, and Pandya brothers taking control of the middle order.
The duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult are certain to be the two pacers while there is a direct fight between Nathan Coulter-Nile and Adam Milne for the third pacer’s slot in the playing XI.
Rahul Chahar has impressed one and all in the first part of the competition with his leg-breaks and is all set to continue in the first game of the second part as well.
Probable XI
Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton de Kock (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Adam Milne, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah.
CSK vs MI: Fantasy XI
Quinton de Kock (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Deepak Chahar
Captain Picks: Moeen Ali
Vice-captain: Rohit Sharma