Mumbai. For the first time in this season of the Indian Premier League, the Mumbai Indians team is going to face the current champion team. When defending champions Chennai Super Kings and host Mumbai Indians face each other in the Indian Premier League match on Sunday, all eyes will be on Mahendra Singh Dhoni, whose last match will probably be at the Wankhede Stadium.
Chennai Super Kings will play for the first time in Mumbai without the captaincy of Dhoni. After November 2005, he will play here for the first time as just a player with any team. Even at the age of 42, Dhoni is performing amazingly behind the wicket and his understanding of the game is unmatched. Chennai hopes that Dhoni’s strategic skills will come in handy in improving their poor record on the outfield this season.
Chennai has won four of the last five matches against Mumbai. The captains of the two most successful teams of the tournament, which have won the IPL title five times, have changed this time. Mumbai made Hardik Pandya the captain in place of Rohit Sharma, while Dhoni gave the command of Chennai to Ruturaj Gaikwad. Despite this, the on-field rivalry between the two teams is expected to remain the same.
After a bad start, Pandya’s Mumbai Indians have made a comeback. The performance of its batsmen in the last two matches has been excellent. Suryakumar Yadav scored a half-century in 17 balls against RCB. Chennai bowlers have performed well on the slow pitch of Chepauk but they have not been tested yet on flat and batsmen-friendly pitches. The opening partnership of Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma will be important for Mumbai.
On the other hand, Chennai will expect good innings from captain Gaikwad, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dubey, Ravindra Jadeja and Dhoni. He will also have to stay away from Jasprit Bumrah (10 wickets). Chennai’s bowling will be in the hands of Mustafizur Rahman, Jadeja, Shardul Thakur and Tushar Deshpande.
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Tags: chennai super kings, Hardik Pandya, IPL 2024, ms dhoni, mumbai indians
FIRST PUBLISHED: April 13, 2024, 18:17 IST