The most historic rivalry in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has another instalment, as the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) take on the Mumbai Indians (MI) in Match 41 at Sharjah.
Both teams faced off in the IPL 2020 season opener, in which MS Dhoni’s men pulled off a run-chase with relative ease. However, much has changed since then – while MI could move to the top of the points table, CSK are placed dead last and need a win to keep their qualification hopes alive.
One common factor that unifies the two teams is that they are both on the back of losses. MI played out two Super Overs against the Kings XI Punjab, with Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal condemning them to only their third defeat this year. Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan suffered injuries in the game, and while the MI skipper is expected to be fit, the latter’s hamstring issue might be more serious than expected.
CSK were on the receiving end of a mauling at the hands of the Rajasthan Royals in their previous game, as Steve Smith and Jos Buttler led the 2008 IPL champions to a 7-wicket win. MS Dhoni spoke about giving the youngsters more opportunities in the coming games, and we might see CSK made wholesale changes to their playing XI.
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