The legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be in the spotlight in what could be his final game at the iconic Wankhede Stadium when defending champions Chennai Super Kings take on Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.
Dhoni returns to the hallowed turf of Wankhede for the first time as a non-captain of the CSK, potentially in his last IPL season. It will also be his first appearance as just a player for any team since November 2005.
Even at 42, Dhoni's glove work remains impeccable and so does his assessment of the game like always. But CSK will hope that his tactical acumen also helps them improve a dismal away record this season, having suffered two defeats on the road.
Chennai will take heart from the fact that in the last 6 meetings, CSK have won 4 games against MI, including the double over their rivals at the Wankhede.
Two of IPL’s most successful teams with five titles each, both sides are witnessing a tectonic shift of leadership change with Hardik Pandya taking over the mantle from Rohit Sharma at MI and Ruturaj Gaikwad succeeding Dhoni at CSK, but there is nothing that suggests their intense rivalry would expect any such shift.
If anything, CSK’s bowlers could be put to the sword by the rampaging MI batters who have gone hammer and tongs at the flat pitches at Wankhede, scoring in excess of 230 against Delhi Capitals and chasing down nearly 200 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru with more than 4 overs to spare.
Pandya's MI have found their footing after a jittery start. Their batters have done well in the last two outings and Suryakumar Yadav’s 17-ball fifty against RCB provides an ominous sign to CSK bowlers, who have shown mastery on slow, turning pitches at the Chepauk but remain untested on flat, batting-friendly surfaces.
Ishan Kishan (161 runs) and Rohit’s opening stand would thus be crucial in the scheme of things but CSK would also have a lot of assurance with their own batting.
Skipper Gaikwad may not be a marauder with the bat but he can be the silent enforcer in the CSK line-up, which has the exuberance of Rachin Ravindra at the top, sturdiness of Daryl Mitchell in the middle and explosiveness of Shivam Dube (176 runs), Ravindra Jadeja and Dhoni in the death overs.
CSK would also be aware that seeing off the dexterous Jasprit Bumrah (10 wickets) and going after the rest of the MI bowling would be the key, since the others have given away runs at alarming rates while struggling with their line and lengths on placid surfaces.
Despite Bumrah’s 5-wicket haul, MI leaked runs at a high rate to allow RCB to get closer to the 200-run mark here a few nights ago.
A lot will be riding on Shardul Thakur and Tushar Deshpande for CSK, who both return to their home ground, but Mustafizur Rahman (9 wickets) and the wily Jadeja would be the ones to watch out for given their recent exploits.
On their part, teams say "We want to get as many runs as possible" but by the look of it, scores around 220-230 while batting first could be the best way possible to ensure an upper hand at this venue.
HEAD-T-HEAD
In the 36 CSK vs MI head-to-head record in IPL since 2008, MI hold the advantage having won 20 times against CSK, who has won against Mumbai 16 times.
WEATHER
Like the last match, excessive heat is likely to welcome the players in Mumbai on Sunday, with temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius at the time of the match. It will be extremely humid (81%).
MI vs CSK probable playing XI
Mumbai Indians likely playing XI vs Chennai Super Kings:
Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Mohammad Nabi, Shreyas Gopal, Jasprit Bumrah, Gerald Coetzee, Akash Madhwal
Impact Player: Suryakumar Yadav
Chennai Super Kings likely playing XI vs Mumbai Indians:
Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Sameer Rizvi, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w), Shardul Thakur, Mustafizur Rahman, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana
Impact player: Shivam Dube
Mumbai Indians full squad:
Hardik Pandya (c), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Dewald Brevis, Jasprit Bumrah, Piyush Chawla, Gerald Coetzee, Tim David, Shreyas Gopal, Ishan Kishan (wk), Anshul Kamboj, Kumar Kartikeya, Akash Madhwal, Kwena Maphaka, Mohammad Nabi, Shams Mulani, Naman Dhir, Shivalik Sharma, Romario Shepherd, Arjun Tendulkar, Nuwan Thushara, Tilak Varma, Vishnu Vinod, Nehal Wadhera, Luke Wood.
Chennai Super Kings full squad:
MS Dhoni (wk), Aravelly Avanish (wk), Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, RS Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Nishant Sindhu, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Choudhary, Mustafizur Rahman, Matheesha Pathirana, Simarjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki, Shardul Thakur, Maheesh Theekshana, Sameer Rizvi.
