Usually, this encounter is considered to be the mother of all clashes in the IPL - the two most successful franchises against one another. But that spark will be missing when third-placed Mumbai Indians (MI) will clash with bottom of the group, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in match 41 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 in Sharjah on the 23rd of October. In contrasting fortunes, MI has won 6 of their 9 matches while CSK has lost 7 of their 10 matches in the tournament. The latter have looked a patch of the team that has won the IPL on three occasions.
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Ambati Rayudu’s 71 off just 48 deliveries coupled with Faf Du Plessis’ 58 off 44 helped CSK chase down MI’s 162 for 9 in the opening match of the tournament in Abu Dhabi. But since then, CSK have seen a dramatic fall in their performance. They have lost 4 of their last 5 matches.
Mumbai Indians
MI’s loss to Kings XI in the Super Over in Dubai was their first loss after five consecutive wins in the tournament. Quinton De Kock has been their best batsman of IPL 2020 and the most consistent one - he has scored 322 runs in 9 innings at a strike rate of 146.36. including 4 fifties. Skipper, Rohit Sharma has not had the greatest of tournaments - he has not been at his fluent best as his strike rate of 129.35 indicates. He might have reserved his best for when it matters most. Kieron Pollard (strike rate of 200 in IPL 2020) and Hardik Pandya (strike rate of 160.78) are the game-changers in the middle order for MI.
The bowling department looks very strong and balanced. After a slow start, Jasprit Bumrah has now gone on to take 15 wickets in 9 matches at a strike rate of 14.4 and economy of just under 7.5. He is the joint third-highest wicket-taker of the tournament. He has been given excellent support by the New Zealand pacer, Trent Boult who has also bagged 12 wickets in the competition. Rahul Chahar has been very impressive with his leg spin and has returned with 11 wickets at an economy rate of 7.4.
Chennai Super Kings
CSK are in big trouble. To qualify for the playoffs, they need to win all their remaining matches and then hope the result of several other matches also goes their way. The three times former champions have been very poor in IPL 2020 - the batting has lacked the spark in the middle order and the bowling has looked lacklustre on most occasions. Faf Du Plessis has been their best batsman by a mile scoring 375 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of 141.5. Shane Watson has got a few runs but has been far from his destructive best as his strike rate of 125 suggests. MS Dhoni has been poor in the middle order. He has failed to provide the flourish batting first and also not been able to chase down targets - his strike rate of 125.19 has been highly disappointing! Kedar Jadhav has just scored 62 runs in 5 innings but still finds a spot in the XI.
Deepak Chahar and Sam Curran have picked 10 wickets each and been the best bowlers for CSK in IPL 2020. The Indian speedster has been very economical too conceding at a rate of just 7.1 per over. Ravindra Jadeja has been very expensive and has conceded 9.34 runs per over.
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WHAT: IPL 2020, Match 41
WHEN: October 23, 7:30PM IST
WHERE: Sharjah
TELECAST: Star Sports Network
LIVE STREAMING: Disney + Hotstar
Predicted XI
Chennai Super Kings - Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Karn Sharma, Josh Hazlewood
Mumbai Indians – Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, James Pattinson, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah
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