On Saturday (May 6), at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will play against the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 49th match of the Indian Premier League 2023. In the first match of the season, CSK won with seven wickets in hand, chasing down the target of 158 runs in 18.1 overs. Currently in third place in the points table, CSK have won five out of ten games so far. Their previous game against Lucknow Super Giants resulted in a washout due to rain, with both teams receiving one point each. With a two-match losing streak, CSK are hoping to rebound in this match.
The Mumbai Indians are currently in sixth place in the points table, having won five out of their nine games so far. They have a two-match winning streak, and in their last game, they defeated the Punjab Kings. Punjab put up an impressive score of 214 runs for the loss of three wickets, with Liam Livingstone scoring a solid half-century. However, Piyush Chawla once again proved to be the star bowler for MI, taking two wickets for just 29 runs in his four overs. MI lost Rohit Sharma in the very first over and Cameron Green in the sixth, but a 116-run partnership between Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav helped them stay in the game. Tim David and Tilak Varma then added 38 runs to secure a six-wicket victory.
CSK and MI are two of the most successful teams in the history of the league, having faced each other 35 times in the IPL. While MI have won 20 games, CSK have emerged victorious in 15 matches. CSK have won three out of their last five encounters against MI, including the previous outing this season.
PROBABLE PLAYING XI
Chennai Super Kings
RD Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, MM Ali, RA Jadeja, S Dubey, MS Dhoni(C), DL Chahar, TU Deshpande, Matheesha Pathirana, M Theekshana
BENCH : AT Rayudu, Ben Stokes, Mitchell Santner, RS Hangargekar, SP Senapati, Shaik Rasheed, Nishant Sindhu, Simarjeet Singh, SSB Magala, Dwaine Pretorius, Bhagath Varma, AJ Mandal, Mukesh Choudhary, Prashant Solanki, Akash Singh
Mumbai Indians
Rohit Sharma(C), SA Yadav, Tim David, Tilak Varma, C Green, Piyush Chawla, Arshad Khan, N Wadhera, Ishan Kishan(wk), K Kartikeya, Jofra Archer
BENCH : T Stubbs, H Shokeen, JP Behrendorff, Ramandeep Singh, S Sandeep Warrier, AS Tendulkar, Vishnu Vinod, Dewald Brevis, Raghav Goyal, Riley Meredith, SZ Mulani, D Jansen, Akash Mandwaal, JA Richardson, CJ Jordan
PITCH REPORT
The average first innings score in the last five T20 games at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai has been 174 runs. Pacers and spinners will likely be equally dominant in this game. At this venue, the pacers have taken 54% of wickets in T20s in the last three years, while the spinners have taken 46% of wickets. The pitch might provide a lot of support to the batters in this game, and this might prove to be a high-scoring encounter. The team winning the toss will likely elect to bowl.
