Table-toppers Chennai Super Kings (CSK) take on bottom-placed Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Saturday.
MI skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field. The visitors made two changes to their playing XI, with out of form West Indian Kieron Pollard finding himself on the bench. CSK, on the other hand went in with the same side.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, too, said that he would've liked to field first. Both captains reckoned that the Pune pitch would remain the same for the 40 overs.
Here are the playing XIs
Mumbai Indians: Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Ishan Kishan(w), Rohit Sharma(c), Jean-Paul Duminy, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Ben Cutting, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah.
Chennai Super Kings: Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Sam Billings, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w/c), Dwayne Bravo, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir.
Preview
It has been a journey of contrasts for the two teams so far. While Mumbai have managed only one win in their six matches, the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led outfit has won five of their six games. The shifting of games from their original home did not affect Chennai as they won their first match in Pune.
For Mumbai, to survive in the tournament, this is a must-win encounter. Mumbai batters have struggled in the tournament, barring Suryakumar Yadav. Skipper Rohit has failed to fire in five of the six games and so is Pollard.
But if Rohit, Pollard, Surya, Evin Lewis and Hardik Pandya fire in unison, Mumbai can set up or chase big totals. And coach Mahela Jayawardane would expect all to score heavily on Saturday. Save his match-winning 94 against Royal Challengers Banglore, Rohit has failed to get past 20 runs in five games. He would be hoping to turn the tables and get some runs under his belt.
Rohit's batting position will also be crucial and MI can ask him to open and bring Surya at number 4. Even in terms of bowling, MI have failed to perform as a unit. When one performed exceedingly well, he lacked support from the other end. The 20-year-old leggie Mayank Markande has been the find for MI and he has grabbed 10 wickets from six games.
But others like 'death overs' specialist Jasprit Bumrah and Bangladesh pacer Muztifizur Rahman have not lived up to the expectations. If the star-studded CSK batting line-up has to be restricted, the two will have to play their part to perfection.
Mumbai can also look at bringing in New Zealand pacer Adam Milne for his compatriot Mitchell McClehaghan, who is leaking runs, especially in the end. On the other hand, Chennai would take confidence from their last win when a vintage Dhoni helped the team chase a stiff target of 206 against RCB.
Chennai would be pleased that most of their batters Australian Shane Watson, Ambati Rayadu, Dwayne Bravo, Dhoni are in form.Only Suresh Raina has been out of form and he would be keen to be among the runs. Coach Stephen Fleming would expect another stellar performance from his batters on a pitch that usually aids the batsmen.
The Chennai bowling, led by Shardul Thakur and complemented by Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, has also clicked so far. While Mumbai will be under extreme pressure to deliver, another win for Chennai would consolidate their position in the table.
(Inputs from PTI)
