IPL 2018: Match Preview Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians

With anticipation at its peak, the IPL 2018 is all set to kick-start with the electrifying contest between the Chennai Super Kings and the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. MS Dhoni’s men make a comeback in the team after a suspension of a couple of years due to spot-fixing allegations.

Both the teams have locked horns previously on 23 occasions out of which MI won 13 times while CSK won 10 matches. So what one can expect is a nerve-wracking contest between both the teams. Mumbai Indians could be the favourite considering the fact that the team has walked away with the champion’s title thrice. Also because MI has dominated Dhoni’s men on the last three occasions when they have come face-to-face. Even as a team Mumbai Indians will be looking forward to continuing their momentum the last in 2017, on the other, the Yellow Army will look to put their best in the IPL opener.

Strengths of MI & CSK:

Mumbai Indians looks like a good side on paper with a blend of youth and experienced players. Even their pace bowling department looks good with names like Jasprit Bumrah, Pat Cummins, Mustafizur Rahman. CSK also has a good batting line –up and with hitters like MS Dhoni himself, Suresh Raina, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu. Also the Yellow Army has amazing line of spinner with the names like Imran Tahir, Ravindra Jadeja and Karn Sharma. Harbhajan Singh, who played for Mumbai Indians, for so long will now play for CSK. With this, Dhoni’s spin bowling department which can rip the strongest batting line-up.

Weakness of MI & CSK:

With Bhajji going to CSK, MI has lacks good spinners.  With rookies like Anukul Roy, Akila Dananjaya and Mayank Markande spin department could prove to be headache for the Mumbai Indians. Also, MI does not have an experienced wicket-keeper.

While Chennai has a plethora of options in the spin bowling department, they could struggle when it comes to pacers in the team. The team will be banking heavily on Shardul Thakur with an international experience but other than him, Deepak Chahar is only a few IPL matches old.

Probable XI’s

Mumbai Indians - Evin Lewis, Ishan Kishan (wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Pat Cummins, Mustafizur Rahman, Jasprit Bumrah, Deepak Chahar

Chennai Super Kings - Murali Vijay, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 06, 2018 05:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).