The biggest rivalry of IPL returns as the defending champions Mumbai Indians is all set to lock horns against the Chennai Super Kings in the 27th match of the competition. The five-time champions returned to winning ways against the Rajasthan Royals and will be upbeat ahead of the El-Classico of IPL. They have a superior head to head record against the yellow brigade and will look to continue their insane run against the three-time champions.
Both teams had contrasting seasons last time around but the MS Dhoni-led CSK have found their feet in the tournament so far and looks like the team to beat so far. They have accepted their limitations and have forged a unit that is capable of beating any team on their day.
However with Mumbai Indians as the opponent who is the only team in the tournament with a better head to head record against the CSK will be wary of the fact that a slight hiccup might allow MI to end their winning momentum. After starting the tournament with a disappointing defeat, CSK has bounced back strongly winning five on the bounce.
Mumbai Indians haven’t been in their best of forms in the tournament so far and after losing 3 out of their first 5 matches, the defending champions found their lost mojo against the Royals, winning the encounter quite convincingly in the end. CSK on the other hand is coming off five consecutive victories. They have been clinical in the tournament so far and will look to carry on the winning juggernaut.
Match Details
Match: MI vs CSK, 27th Match, Indian Premier League 2021
Date: Saturday, May 1, 2021
Time: 7:30 PM
Venue: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Pitch and Toss
The first three matches at the Arun Jaitely Stadium in Delhi has produced belters besides having some sort of help for the bowlers. Chasing has been an easier option on this ground with the team batting first not managing to score big.
The spinners might get some assistance from the surface. Dew is unlikely to play a part in this game. The team winning the toss shouldn’t have any hesitations putting the opposition in. All in all, we should be in for a classic high scoring encounter.
Team News and Match-ups
Mumbai Indians
As of now there has been no injury reported in the Mumbai Indians camp and they are likely to depend on the match-ups while choosing their XI ahead of the match. They seems to have a settled unit but they have also relied on match-ups and have included players depending upon players in the opposition squad.
As far as the Mumbai Indians are concerned they have lacked the consistency from Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah this season. Boult in particular hasn’t managed to do what he did so brilliantly in the previous season. The left-arm pacer hasn’t managed to provide breakthroughs in the powerplay. However, his match-up against Faf du Plessis could be a well-contested one as stats suggest that Du Plessis have struggled against Boult.
He has scored only 34 runs in 36 deliveries facing bowled, getting dismissed on a couple of occasions. MS Dhoni has struggled against leggies and Rahul Chahar could well be an option if the CSK skipper comes out to bat in the middle overs.
Probable XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult
Chennai Super Kings
Just like the defending champions, Chennai Super Kings is expected to get the full squad available for selection. They have formed a settled unit and it will be interesting to see what tactics they employ against a top team. They don’t have the greatest of records against MI which should force the CSK think tank to make decisions out of the box.
Ravindra Jadeja has been a superstar for the Yellow brigade in this edition so far and whatever he has touched has turned to goal. His performance against the Royal Challengers Bangalore can be rated as one of the finest performances by any cricketer in a single game. 37 runs in one over, then bagging three crucial wickets, catching, run out and just the aura which he carried on the field.
Jadeja has troubled MI skipper Rohit Sharma in the past and it won’t be a surprise if Dhoni decides to hand over the ball to Jaddu in the powerplay against the likes of Rohit Sharma. The MI skipper has had a few problems against left-arm spinners and it should be an interesting match-up.
Probable XI: Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c/wk), Sam Curran, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir
Fantasy XI
Wicket-keeper- Quinton de Kock
Batsmen- Faf du Plessis, Rohit Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav
All-rounders- Ravindra Jadeja
Bowlers- Deepak Chahar, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bunrah, Jayant Yadav