The two teams that kickstarted the Dream11 Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 proceedings on September 19 in Abu Dhabi will meet again after 40 matches as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) square off this time in Sharjah on Friday.
This will be MI’s first game after their twin Super Overs-thriller against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). While the Rohit Sharma-led unit came second in that game, they have won six games out of nine and are in the top half of the points table.
CSK too are coming into this game on the back of a loss against Rajasthan Royals (RR). But unlike MI, they are currently on the eighth spot in the points table, having a win-loss ratio of 3-7.
While MI will be out to consolidate their position in the top half, CSK will be eager to keep their hopes of making it to the playoffs alive and will be keen to secure their second win against MI in the ongoing season.
Ravindra Jadeja
Ravindra Jadeja scored an unbeaten 35 in CSK’s game against RR and was his side’s leading run-getter. In the game before that, the left-hander had tonked 33* from 13 balls against Delhi Capitals in Sharjah. CSK will expect him to continue his batting form.
Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah was lethal with the ball when MI faced KXIP. The right-arm pacer picked three wickets before conceding just 5 runs and picking two wickets in the first Super Over against KL Rahul and Co in MI’s last game. MI will bank on their bowling spearhead to come good against CSK.
Faf du Plessis
Faf du Plessis has scored four fifties and has been CSK’s leading run-getter this season with 375 runs to his name. The last CSK faced MI, Faf had scored an unbeaten half-century and the right-hander will be looking to have another fine outing with the bat against MI.
Quinton de Kock
With 322 runs to his name, Quinton de Kock is currently MI’s leading run-getter. The wicketkeeper-batsman has scored three successive fifties while opening the batting and MI will be more than happy if he continues his tremendous run of form.
Kieron Pollard
Kieron Pollard is currently scoring at a strike rate of 200 in this IPL season. The big-hitting West Indian all-rounder has scored 208 runs in 7 innings and coming into this game on the back of his 12-ball 34-run (not out) blitz against KXIP. He will be itching to send a few balls out of the park when MI face CSK in Sharjah.
Wild Card
Deepak Chahar
Deepak Chahar picked two wickets in the powerplay when CSK faced RR in their last game and his side will expect him to do something similar as they face a strong MI batting line-up. If the right-arm pacer let the ball do the talking, CSK will be in with a chance to return to winning ways.
Stats
- CSK at this venue: Played 3, Won 1, Lost 2
- MI at this venue: Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1
Approaching Milestones
- MS Dhoni requires 6 catches to complete 100 IPL catches for CSK.
- Ambati Rayudu and Faf du Plessis need 2 and 1 fours respectively to complete 300 and 200 IPL fours.
- Jasprit Bumrah is 3 wickets from completing 100 IPL wickets.
- Kieron Pollard needs 37 runs to complete 3000 IPL runs.
Source: IPLT20.com