Deadline: May 7, 2019 at 7.30 PM
Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Pitch report
Chepauk has been a paradise for spinners since the first match. Dhoni drafted Harbhajan only when the opposition had a handful of southpaws, but he changed the trend in the last few matches. Harbhajan has taken 11 wickets in 6 games here, while Tahir – the second-highest wicket-taker of the season – has 12 wickets in 7 games. Runs too come thick and fast, but if spinners get the ball in the right areas, batters find it difficult to dominate.
Probable XI for Mumbai: Quinton de Kock (wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Keiron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Mitchell McClenaghan, Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah
Probable XI for Chennai: Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, DJ Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir
Fantasy team
We have opted for a fantasy cricket team on the basis of players’ impact, recent performances, and credit points.
Note that you can, now, change your team after the toss. You can also check players’ performances in the last 5 matches. Tap on the players’ names to get the data while making your fantasy team.
My XI: MS Dhoni (c & wk), Shane Watson, Rohit Sharma, Faf du Plessis, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Lasith Malinga, Imran Tahir (vc), Jasprit Bumrah, Deepak Chahar
Preview
Chennai were at the top of the table for the better part of the tournament. However, their four defeats in the last six matches pushed Mumbai ahead. To add fuel to the fire, Mumbai are the only team this season to have managed to beat Chennai in both matches – one of which was Chennai’s first at home since 2013.
It, by all means, is the El Clasico of the IPL. It is a battle between the three-time winners. Chennai know the nook and cranny of the Chepauk, and Mumbai know how to fight tooth and nail in the toughest of situations.
Chennai have Harbhajan, who had played 10 seasons for Mumbai. Dhoni will perhaps pick his brain and make strategies.
In both matches, Chennai elected to field first. In the first match, Suryakumar and Krunal helped Mumbai put up a competitive score of 170 for 5. The pace trio of Behrendorff, Malinga, and Pandya then took 8 wickets between them. In the second contest, Rohit scored a fighting fifty and pushed Mumbai’s score to 155 for 4, and again, their bowlers put up a top-class show. Malinga, with his figures of 4 for 37, was the pick of the bowlers.
It will not come as a surprise if Dhoni opts to field again. His strategies, despite being beyond our thought process, prove us wrong time and again.
Top performers
From both teams, only one batter appears in the list of top 10 run-getters. With 492 runs in 14 matches, de Kock is at the fourth spot.
For Chennai, Dhoni has done bulk of the scoring, be it while batting first or chasing. He has been the Mahi we know, showing no hesitation at all to take on the batters. In 9 innings, he has managed 368 runs at an average of 122.6.
Tahir, as discussed before, is at the second spot in the bowling chart. He has pocketed 21 wickets in 14 matches, while Deepak Chahar has grabbed 16 wickets in as many matches.
For Mumbai, Bumrah has done the most damage: his 17 wickets have come at an average of 21.4.
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