(Cricket news) Mumbai Indians are still struggling to get that elusive victory whereas Chennai Super Kings have won one out of their six matches they have played. A lot is riding on this match as a defeat for Mumbai could be all but curtains for their campaign while a loss could put Super Kings on the brink. The two teams combined have nine IPL titles out of the 14 seasons thus far but this year has been a season to forget for both franchises as they have won just one game in the 12 matches they have played.
Mumbai Indians have tried everything but nothing has paid dividence for them as Mahela Jayawardene and co need to find some answers quickly for an upturn in form. This season, the veterans for MI haven’t performed as Rohit Sharma is averaging only 26.7 as an opener in the IPL since 2020, for them the recipe to success has always been if Rohit performs for his team, Mumbai have won seven of their eight games since 2018, whenever Rohit has scored a half-century. For MI surprisingly Kieron Pollard will hold the key with the ball as he has picked 14 wickets against CSK which is the most he has against any opposition in IPL. Bumrah will hold the key in the death overs to contain CSK's aggression in the latter overs, MS Dhoni and Shivam Dube have struggled to hit the MI pacer.
CSK have some respite despite their terrible start to the campaign as some players are getting back to their usual best. The orange cap winner from last season had a best of 17 in the first five matches before a welcome return to runs with a 73 against Gujarat Titans as they should have won the last match also but a terrible last over from Chris Jordan resulted in a loss. CSK should play Dwaine Pretorius over Chris Jordan, who has been expensive in the middle overs (economy rate of 11) as well as at the death (economy of 13.04). Pretorius has fared better with the ball in each of those phases, having an economy of 6.80 and 10 respectively. Ravindra Jadeja has been successful in keeping Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav in check so there could be possibility that he could bring himself on much earlier in the innings if the MI captain gets off to a good start.
Pitch and weather report: The DY Patil pitch has been the most unpredictable pitch this season as it has seen runs galore as well as wickets falling down at regular intervals. One thing is certain that pacers will get a lot of movement up front. Temperatures are expected to be around the early to mid-30s through the course of the match but humidity is likely to be around 40 to 50%,with no chances of rain.
Interesting facts:
- It will be the 200th T20 appearance for Bumrah and 200th IPL appearance for Robin Uthappa
- Bravo has 31 wickets against Mumbai, the most by anyone
- Gaikwad averages 54.1 in the powerplay since IPL 2020, the most among openers
- Six matches lost by MI in 2022 is already their longest losing streak in IPL and no team has started off an IPL season losing their first seven matches.
- Robin Uthappa needs 81 runs to reach 5000 IPL runs
Also read: Delhi Capitals bounce back to defeat lackluster Punjab Kings
Probable XI for MI:
1 Ishan Kishan (wk), 2 Rohit Sharma (capt), 3 Dewald Brewis, 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Suryakumar Yadav, 6 Kieron Pollard/Tim David, 7 Fabian Allen, 8 M Ashwin, 9 Jasprit Bumrah, 10 Tymal Mills/Riley Meredith, 11 Jaydev Unadkat
Probable XI for CSK:
1 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2 Robin Uthappa, 3 Moeen Ali, 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 MS Dhoni (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja (capt), 8 Dwayne Bravo, 9 Chris Jordan/Dwaine Pretorius, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Mukesh Choudhary
