Pitch Report
Fortunately, toss hasn’t been a differentiating factor at the Wankhede Stadium. Along with the pacers, the spinners too have found decent help at the venue. 13 out of 30 wickets in the last three games have belonged to the spinners.
Teams
Probable XI for Chennai: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway*, Robin Uthappa/Ravindra Jadeja, Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali*, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Shivam Dube, Dwayne Bravo*, Maheesh Theekshana*, Simarjeet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary
Probable XI for Mumbai: Ishan Kishan(w), Rohit Sharma(c), Tilak Varma, Tim David/Dewald Brevis*, Kieron Pollard*, Ramandeep Singh, Daniel Sams*, Murugan Ashwin, Kumar Kartikeya, Jasprit Bumrah, Riley Meredith*
Also Read:
Kolkata vs Hyderabad Fantasy Cricket Tips
Chennai vs Gujarat Fantasy Cricket Tips
Power Players
With scores of 87, 56, and 85* in the last three games, Devon Conway has generated whopping fantasy points. Despite playing conventional strokes, he has maintained a strike rate above 150.
Chennai will be pleased that Ruturaj Gaikwad is slowly getting back amongst the runs. He has added 198 runs in the last four innings. Against Mumbai, though, he has scores of 0, 88, and 4 in three appearances.
Smart Picks
Dwayne Bravo rarely bowls in the powerplay but often provides the breakthroughs in the middle and final overs. In the two games he has played at the Wankhede this season, he has taken 7 wickets.
Ambati Rayudu has been a regular run-getter against Mumbai over the past few seasons. He has scored 185 runs at 37 in his last five innings against them.
After struggling initially, Chennai will be pleased with Mukesh Choudhary’s new-ball efforts. When the two teams met earlier in the tournament, he walked away with the Player of the Match award for his spell of 3 for 19.
Ishan Kishan might not have lived up to his billing, but scores of 51 and 45 in the last two innings could be an indication that he is probably regaining his lost form.
With 12 wickets in 8 matches, Maheesh Theekshana is proving to be a genuine strike bowler for Chennai. Given Mumbai’s out-of-sorts batting order, he could easily run through them.
Although Mumbai lost to Kolkata, Jasprit Bumrah’s inspired spell of 5 for 10 stole the show. If he can maintain a similar intensity and intent for the remaining games, fantasy players will be rewarded handsomely.
In the wicketkeeper category, MS Dhoni could fetch some handy fantasy points with both bat and gloves. The Chennai skipper is still finding ways to amaze us all.
Fantasy Flops
It’s been a majorly disappointing season for Kieron Pollard. His downfall has hurt both Mumbai and fantasy players. In 11 games, the West Indian giant has only managed 144 runs with the highest score of 25. With the ball too, he has only 4 scalps to his credit.
Much of Mumbai’s woes in this edition have stemmed from Rohit Sharma’s dry run with the bat. He is yet to get past the 50-run mark.
Match Preview
Although Chennai can mathematically qualify for the playoffs, there isn’t much left to gain for them as well as Mumbai. Both teams have also played 11 matches each, with Chennai winning 4 and Mumbai 2.
There are problems galore on both sides and it is tough to predict the outcome of this inconsequential clash. That said, when the former champions met earlier in the tournament, Chennai pipped Mumbai in the last over to get home.
Time: 12 May, 7.30 PM IST