Follow Us“The greatest finisher in the game’s history finishes it off in style,” was how you could accurately sum up the earlier fixture between these two sides at the DY Patil Stadium.
8.3 million people flocked to their nearby TV screens to witness the biggest clash of the Indian Premier League – the El Clasico between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. In a year where the TV rating has seen a massive dip, this fixture kept the hopes alive for the broadcasters.
Even when the two teams were languishing at the bottom of the table, the fan base of both the franchises would never let the fixture vanish away from the limelight. Mumbai walk into this fixture on the back of a heavy defeat at the hands of the Knights. Chennai, on the other hand, posted two convincing wins in their last three encounters to push for a late playoff spot.
Against Delhi Capitals, in particular, the four-time IPL winners put on a complete performance, both with the bat and the ball. All of Chennai’s worries at the top of the order have been solved by the inclusion of Devon Conway, as the bowling has been strengthened by Moeen Ali’s return. Chennai has visible flaws and has a real opportunity to stun the other franchises with their playoff push.
How are Chennai going to approach this contest?
For the Super Kings, the equation is pretty simple: win all the remaining games with a good margin. They will have to worry about their own performance before taking out the calculator. Last encounter, Chennai’s team did not feature their former skipper Ravindra Jadeja, who MS Dhoni admitted as to being ‘unfit’ for the encounter.
With Chennai’s top order – Conway and Gaikwad – firing all cylinders, the pressure would be on Robin Uthappa to hold onto his place in the playing XI. Despite being dropped, Shivam Dube, multiple times this season has shown his worth with the bat for the Super Kings. Earlier today, the franchise confirmed that Jadeja is ruled out of the season, meaning that the franchise will have to stick to the squad that played Delhi.
Twice in the last three fixtures, Chennai have won on the back of scoreboard pressure. But with Wankhede being a firm favourite venue for chasing totals, it would be interesting to see how Dhoni’s side approach this particular contest, as they head into the last few games of the season.
Will Chennai spring a surprise with the inclusion of Rajvardhan Hangargekar, who was seen heavily training prior to this massive encounter ahead of Uthappa? Or will Dhoni stick to the winning combination?
Will Dewald Brevis replace Kieron Pollard?
Mumbai already possesses a solid finisher in the form of the Singaporean all-rounder Tim David. Since his comeback into the setup, David has been in smashing form, scoring 20 off just nine balls. He then flipped the show against the Titans by scoring a 21-ball 44, in sublime fashion. While he failed against the Knight Riders, he has still shown enough reasons to be favoured over the veteran Kieron Pollard.
In Suryakumar’s absence, Mumbai have had a call to make, which was playing Ramandeep Singh. But the move hasn’t worked and with only a handful of games remaining, will the franchise opt to look for the future. Trying Dewald Brevis did certainly help Mumbai but in the presence of Suryakumar, it only pushed their most talented batter down the order.
So, with the Mumbaikar ruled out, there is a strong chance of the franchise opting to play Brevis. This year, barring three games, Pollard’s strike rate has been under the 100 mark. In the last four of his five encounters, the former Windies skipper has struck at a rate of 93.75, 28.57, 71.43, and 95 despite facing a minimum of nine balls in every encounter.
Across 11 appearances for MI, the right-hander averages a paltry 14.4 at a strike rate of 107.5. With the ball too, he averages 31.3, conceding runs at 8.9 RPO, suggesting that he is far away from his usual form, giving the franchise an opportunity to play with Brevis.
Team Combination and Playing XI
With the franchise confirming that Jadeja is ruled out of the season, expect the Super Kings to feature the same playing XI that played against the Capitals.
Chennai Super Kings: Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Robin Uthappa, Shivam Dube, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (wk) (c), Dwayne Bravo, Maheesh Theekshana, Simarjeet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary
In Suryakumar Yadav’s absence, Mumbai opted to field the talented Ramandeep Singh in the playing XI. However, the right-hander has remained far from convincing, which should at least tempt the franchise to play the talented 19-year-old, Dewald Brevis. But that would mean dropping an overseas star.
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Ramandeep Singh, Tim David, Kieron Pollard, Daniel Sams, Murugan Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Riley Meredith