It is safe to say that Mumbai Indians have been one of the best teams of IPL 2020 so far. However their biggest rival and one of the most successful teams Chennai Super Kings haven’t had a great season. Their chances of making the playoffs look all but over. CSK will be looking to avoid the wooden spoon, but they face a stern test in MI. They did beat the Mumbai Indians in the opening fixture of IPL 2020, which should give them some much-needed confidence ahead of this game. With the two most successful teams in IPL history going head-to-head in Sharjah, we should be in for a cracker of a contest
Match Details:
Match:
Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians, Match 41
Date:
23rd October 2020, at 7:30 PM IST
Venue:
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
What To Expect:
The pitch at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium has slowed down considerably, with the bowlers holding their own of late. Apart from the usual swing with the new ball, the pacers have enjoyed extra bounce, which has helped them pick up wickets even though the dimensions of the ground haven’t been too kind to them.There is also some help on offer for the spinners, who have forced batsmen to target the square boundaries rather than the considerably smaller straight boundaries.Despite the bowlers finding some assistance, the ball has come on to the bat fairly well, and we should have a relatively high-scoring game. 170 should be a decent score at this venue, with most captains opting to bat first upon winning the toss in IPL 2020.
Chennai Super Kings:
Things haven’t gone according to plan for CSK, who are currently dwelling at the bottom of the table with six points from ten games. Although MS Dhoni and his men can still make it to the top half of the table, the season-ending injury to Dwayne Bravo might have been the final nail in the coffin. Despite the likes of Faf du Plessis and to some extent Sam Curran doing well with bat, inconsistency has hampered CSK in IPL 2020.
CSK Predicted Playing XI:
Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (C&WK), Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Piyush Chawla and Josh Hazlewood.
Mumbai Indians:
Defending champions Mumbai Indians have been one of the best teams this season with six wins in nine games. Despite losing two out of their first three games in IPL 2020, MI have come back strong, with their only other defeat coming in a Super Over to the Kings XI Punjab. Their openers Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock have been sensational, with the likes of Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav also having shown glimpses of their ability. MI’s well-rounded bowling attack has tormented opposition line-ups as well.
MI Predicted Playing XI:
Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton de Kock (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan/Saurabh Tiwary, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult