Follow UsAfter over a decade of dominance, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) face-off in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 as the bottom two placed sides. For die-hard fans of both teams, it has been hard to digest. But for some, these are the days to cherish and hope that a new era dawns upon us wherein we witness a new rivalry being born. If that is as good and fierce as the one between MI and CSK, we are in for a treat.
Be it cricket, football or any other sport, when you are on top, you need to cherish every moment. As you do not know when everything will come crashing down, leaving many years, decades to regain the crown that was earlier assured.
While MI and CSK rode the highs in the previous 14 seasons, they now find themselves at rock bottom and can only move upwards from here.
Regardless of the current situation, no team will take a backward step once the El Clasico of the IPL begins. While reclaiming their crown may be out of the question, they can still spoil other teams’ party in a bid to remain relevant as we slowly move towards the second half of the tournament.
What do CSK have up their sleeves?
The Gaikwad threat
Ruturaj Gaikwad’s return to form is a huge relief for CSK. After scores of 0, 1, 1, 16 and 17, the CSK opener piled on 73 off just 48 deliveries against Gujarat Titans (GT). This comes as good news for the defending champions as his ability to see off the new ball works well for the team.
As an opener in the IPL, when Gaikwad bats past the powerplay, he has scored 30 or more everytime. Out of the 14 instances he has batted beyond the powerplay he has nine 50-plus scores and his team wins 86% of the matches. The loss against GT, therefore, comes as a rare one for CSK and will hope that he continues to shine for the rest of the tournament.
Once past the powerplay challenge, Gaikwad remains a huge treat given his ability to tackle spin. In fact, since IPL 2020, among players who have scored 200-plus runs against spin, only Sanju Samson (82.8) has a better average than Gaikwad (75).
Theekshana an alternate to Deepak Chahar?
It’s no secret that CSK have struggled to get the breakthrough in the powerplay. In the first three matches, CSK had picked up just one wicket at 108 at an economy rate of 9.2. However, in the last three matches since Theekshana’s debut, the Men in Yellow have picked up six wickets at 18 – with Theekshana accounting for four of them – and have done so with an economy rate of just 6.2.
The Sri Lankan tweaker has used his carom balls well, accounting for five out of his six wickets. The trick for the MI batters would be to pick him early, but they have been in fine form against finger spinners this season, having lost just one wicket against them, scoring 148 runs – the best among all teams this season.
Bravo continues to deliver
Dwayne Bravo is just one of the five bowlers this season to have picked up at least a wicket every match. Bravo is CSK’s leading wicket-taker this season with 10 scalps at a strike-rate of 13 and has been ever-improving since the 2018 season.
He has been excellent at the death, where his six wickets have come at an economy rate of just 8.5, which are among the best when compared to other pacers this season.
This is truly a blessing, given that he has not had support at the other end, with Chris Jordan taken for plenty in the final five. 57% of Jordan’s deliveries have been either full tosses or in the slot and has been taken for 57 runs from 20 deliveries.
This is where the inclusion of Dwaine Pretorius could work for CSK as he has executed the slower balls well. While 56% of Pretorius’ deliveries this season have been change-ups, Jordan has bowled a negligible 3%.
MI slowly inching towards their maiden win?
Middle-order trio to the rescue
With the likes of Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard struggling for runs, the middle-order trio of Suryakumar Yadav, Dewald Brevis and Tilak Varma have been the standout performers in the Mumbai line-up.
Both Surya and Brevis missed the first couple of games for MI, but since they have returned for the last four matches, they have scored at a strike-rate of 154 and 172 respectively. Young Tilak Varma too has played his part, scoring at 146 in the middle phase, which then goes up to 200 at the death.
Since the three have played together, they have been the top-scorers for MI in three of the four matches. They have dominated every single phase they have played. What makes them more dangerous is the fact that they have not shown any sort of weakness against pace or spin.What’s wrong with Kishan?
After scoring fifties in his first two games, MI opener Ishan Kishan has managed 14, 26, 3 and 13 in his next four innings, which has been one of the main reasons for MI not getting off to a good start. His 191 runs have come at a strike-rate of just 117, which is the lowest among batters who have scored at least 150 runs this season.
Kishan starts off slowly in the powerplay, probably looking to get his eye in and set up for a big innings, but in reality, he just gets stuck at the crease and does not score at a brisk pace neither in the powerplay nor in the middle-overs.
Kishan’s strike-rate of 111 in the first six overs is the lowest (Min: 100 runs) and 98 is the least in the middle-phase (Min: 50 runs).
Pollard’s misery to continue?
One of Mumbai’s mainstays over the years, Kieron Pollard has now gone 12 innings without getting a score in excess of 30. His last 30-plus score incidentally came against CSK last season, when he smashed an unbeaten 87* off 34 deliveries in Delhi.
The main reason for his poor season so far has been his inability to negotiate spinners. Pollard has scored just 11 runs from 18 balls against them and has already been dismissed twice, while against the fast bowlers, he strikes at a healthy 165.
However, he will hope to come good against CSK, against whom he has a strike-rate of 172 – the highest among all teams. Whenever Pollard has remained unbeaten against CSK, MI have gone on to win. He also averages 74.8 and has struck at 186 in wins over CSK. This could very well be the match Pollard turns things around.
Probable XIs:
Mumbai Indians
Given that MI have the left-arm pace option with Jaydev Unadkat, it might make sense to have Riley Meredith in the mix in place of Tymal Mills, who has six wickets at an economy rate of over 11 this season so far. An option to get Tim David in place of Fabian Allen could also be discussed but the former does not offer an extra spin option that the West Indies all-rounder offers.
Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Dewald Brevis, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Fabian Allen/Tim David, Jaydev Unadkat, Murugan Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Tymal Mills/Riley Meredith
Chennai Super Kings
The only change CSK would consider is bringing in Pretorius in place of Jordan. The only other spot that could remain up for grabs is left-arm seamer Mukhesh Choudhary. CSK have the likes of Simarjeet Singh, Rajvardhan Hangargekar and KM Asif in their ranks to pick from if they feel the need to mix things up a bit
Robin Uthappa, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Dwayne Bravo, Dwaine Pretorius, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary