With 2 defeats on the trot, defending champions Mumbai Indians could be handed yet another spanking when they take on in-form Chennai Super Kings in an IPL encounter today.
With 2 defeats on the trot, defending champions Mumbai Indians could be handed yet another spanking when they take on in-form Chennai Super Kings in an IPL encounter today. The Rohit Sharma-led have been defeated in the IPL campaign so far to the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders (by 41 runs) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (by 7 wickets).
The Blue Brigade from Mumbai have plenty of work to do, both in their batting as well as bowling departments with the former being the weakest link so far. Indian team hopeful Ambati Rayudu has got starts under his belts but failed to convert them into big scores, while the likes of Mike Hussey, skipper Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard and all-rounder Corey Anderson have been below par.
On the bowling front, Zaheer Khan and Lasith Malinga have been on the money so far with their accuracy. The spin department of Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha have let down with their inaccuracy to pick wickets. The Chennai Super Kings started off with a loss at the hand of Kings XI Punjab but stormed back to form with wins over Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals. In fact, Chennai recorded their biggest-ever win in terms of runs against the Delhi Daredevils (by 93 runs).
And going by the current form, MS Dhoni’s CSK will start as overwhelming favourites against a struggling Mumbai side. Two-time winners CSK will be banking on their strong batting to give them a flying start. With the likes of Suresh Raina, Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum and MS Dhoni in the ranks, the MI bowling have to be at their level best to bring CSK down.
Teams (from):
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (C), Lasith Malinga, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Michael Hussey, Zaheer Khan, Pragyan Ojha, Corey Anderson, Josh Hazlewood, CM Gautam, Aditya Tare, Apoorv Wankhade, Marchant de Lange, Krishmar Santokie, Ben Dunk, Pawan Suyal, Sushant Marathe, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Gopal, Jalaj Saxena.
Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, Ashish Nehra, Mohit Sharma, Samuel Badree, Ben Hilfenhaus, Matt Henry, B Aparajith, Mithun Manhas, Ishwar Pandey, Pawan Negi, Vijay Shankar, Ronit More, John Hastings.
