Mumbai Indians will look to agitate Chennai Super Kings to get closer to the playoffs in the high-octane clash at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Friday.
As the Mumbai Indians team bus entered the stadium premises on the eve of the high-octane clash against Chennai Super Kings, a gathering of observers had assembled to welcome their heroes. You read that right. Individuals in this part of the nation regard the way that Mumbai is likewise a three-time Indian Premier League champion.
A MI-CSK clash is constantly worth the expensive tickets. It’s a game of nerves. What’s more, since the ICC Cricket World Cup noise has recently started, this apparatus will test the mindset of the big guns.
Six World Cup-bound India players will be part of the fixture at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Friday.
Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma has not had the able to change over his begins. Being a major match player, this could be his game. All-rounder Hardik Pandya appears to be fine with his recently obtained helicopter shot and decent spells with the ball. Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been economically tight.
Indeed, even after 11 years, CSK captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni remains the best player for the yellow army. He has been striking the ball at 137.11 in this IPL.
Kedar Jadhav will be hungry to make an impact; aside from a depleting 58 against MI in the away fixture, he didn’t generally satisfy the ‘utility cricketer’ tag.
Left-arm turn bowler Ravindra Jadeja has chipped in occasionally with two or three wickets all over, yet he is yet to showcase his all-round abilities.
Training session
MI regrouped after a four-day break. World Cup-bound players and a couple of key members from the squad were discharged to energize batteries before heading into the last leg of the high-pressure league.
The players returned and picked from where they left. The MI side had an intense training session that included a lot of running and fielding. The bat and ball came much later.
MI is probably not going to tinker with the combination it had against the Rajasthan Royals. It will be astute to play both the leggies, Rahul Chahar and Mayank Markande, on the spin-friendly Chepauk strip.
Rahul will likewise join with his cousin, Deepak Chahar, who is CSK’s go-to paceman in the league.
Returning on the of an agreeable success against Sunrisers Hyderabad, CSK looked loose at the nets, alternating to bat and bowl.
Having booked a virtual playoffs-billet, CSK can perhaps experiment with Dhruv Shorey instead of Ambati Rayudu, who has been off-colour.
Harbhajan Singh, who claimed crucial wickets including that of Jonny Bairstow in his first over in the last fixture, is likely to retain his spot.
Overseas stars
Shane Watson’s arrival to form is anything but a decent sign for MI. The previous Australia cricketer, who presently plays exclusively as a batsman, fired a 53-ball 96 a few evenings ago against Sunrisers. Faf du Plessis missed out on a big score but he has been in good touch.
South Africa vice-captain Quinton de Kock has been a brute force for MI at the top of the order. His wicket should be on CSK’s priority list. Not to forget the experience and just the presence of Lasith Malinga in the side.
