Usually, when Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings play each other, it will be dubbed as an El Classico of IPL, but this is not the case now. CSK has performed relatively poorly, winning only three games out of 10, and is placed at the bottom of the table with their MS Dhoni not being in the best forms. Despite Rohit Sharma’s low returns in the last few games, MI is sitting pretty at the 2nd position and will most likely qualify for playoffs if they win here. These two sides last met in the IPL opener, with CSK coming on top by 5 wickets.
CSK are on the verge of not making the playoffs for the first time in their history, and another loss will signify their early exit. In the game against RR, the CSK batsmen could not get going with their innings posting just 125 runs. They have been decent in their bowling, and at one stage, they might have entertained thoughts of an unlikely win taking 3 early wickets in powerplay but couldn’t make any further inroads as the RR won by 7 wickets.
MI lost their first game against KXIP after five consecutive wins in what could be described as one of the best matches in IPL history. The winner of that match was decided after not just one but 2 super-overs. De Kock continued his excellent form, reaching his 4th half-century in his last outings after a rare failure from their top-3, and an explosive finish from Pollard gave them a respectable 176. A good final spell from Bumrah made sure the game has to be decided via a super-over.
Key Players
Batsman – Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Faf Du Plessis, and Mayank Agarwal, and MS Dhoni.
Rohit Sharma has played well but hasn’t scored a big one in a long while, and this might be the game we see his carnage. Hardik Pandya playing as a batsman, hasn’t scored a fifty yet and will look to score one if he gets an eye in. Faf Du Plessis is the lone spark in the top-order for CSK and is the team’s highest run-getter so far. But he has a string of low scores in the last couple of games and will want to score big. MS Dhoni has a rare offseason in IPL and is the only captain without any 50+ score yet. If CSK are to win the remaining matches, MSD has to come good.
All Rounder- Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Kieron Pollard, and Krunal Pandya.
Sam Curran and Ravindra Jadeja are rare shining spots in an otherwise disastrous campaign for the Super Kings. Curran has thrice opened the innings, but the experiment didn’t seem to work so far, and he is better off coming down the order. He is also the joint highest wicket-taker for CSK so far with 10 wickets. Jadeja has been exceptional with the bat having the best strike rate among the batsman but has been poor with the ball, having taken only 4 wickets. Krunal Pandya has impressed with limited opportunities with the bat but rather ordinary with the ball just like Jadeja. Pollard has the best batting average of 208 in this IPL and an SR of over 200. These astonishing stats of Pollard makes him a player to watch out for.
Bowlers – Josh Hazzlewood, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, and Rahul Chahar.
Rahul Chahar has been a consistent performer for MI this season, having taken 11 wickets and a decent ER of just 7.40. With CSK players are regularly being troubled by spinners, Chahar will be more than handy. Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers in the last game for MI taking 3 wickets and almost won them in the super-over only to be bettered by an even more scintillating over from Shami. Josh Hazlewood playing only in his 2nd IPL game this season, bowled well and may get another opportunity against MI. Deepak Chahar is back among the wickets in powerplays, and this is good news for CSK, although it is coming late in the season.
Battles to look forward
- Rahul Chahar vs MS Dhoni
- Jasprit Bumrah vs Faf Du Plessis
- Deepak Chahar vs Rohit Sharma
The opposition captains bring their leg spinners into the attack whenever Dhoni comes to the crease, and Rohit might also follow a similar strategy by introducing Chahar to bowl to the CSK captain. The other Chahar is a great exponent of swing bowling with the new ball, and with Rohit struggling for runs, the former looks a likely contender to send the batsman to the dugout. Jasprit Bumrah is a threat to all the CSK’s top-order with their current form, but if he can get the scalp of CSK’s highest run-getter, Faf will put much pressure on other batters.
Head to Head between MI and KXIP.
- Matches Played: 31
- MI Won: 18
- CSK won: 13
Significant Approaching Milestones.
3- Jasprit Bumrah needs 3 more scalps to reach 100 IPL wicket mark.
27- Krunal Pandya needs 27 runs to complete 1000 career IPL runs.
37- Kieron Pollard needs 37 more runs to reach 3000 runs milestone in IPL.
1: De Kock needs 1 more scalps behind wickets to complete 50 IPL dismissals(catch and stumpings).
Match conditions
Venue: Sharjah cricket stadium, Sharjah.
Date & Timings: October 23, 2020, at 7.30 PM IST.
Weather: Clear with the temperature around 32 C.
Pitch: Likely to be a good batting surface with possible due later on.