With their playoff hopes over, Mumbai Indians (MI) take on their staunch rivals Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who are hanging by a thread themselves and need a big win to secure a top-four position. With a lot at stake, the two sides meet in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday, May 11.
This has been a season to forget for both Mumbai and CSK. While Mumbai will be playing for pride, CSK still have an outside chance to progress if they win their remaining games and other results go their way. CSK will be eliminated if they lose to Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium.
The MS Dhoni-led side will take confidence in their 91-run win over Delhi Capitals (DC) in their last match and hope the batters build on such a brilliant performance. Opener Devon Conway is in sublime form and has hit three back-to-back half-centuries. He tore apart the DC bowling attack with his 87 runs but would need to provide an aggressive start with fellow opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, who too has found form but needs to be more consistent.
When the two sides met the last time, a vintage Dhoni, sealed the game on the last ball with a four.
Meanwhile, the CSK bowlers were right on the money when they bundled DC for 117. All-rounder Moeen Ali picked up three wickets, while young pacers Mukesh Choudhary and Simarjeet Singh also fared well. The trio will need to once again deliver along with spinner Maheesh Theekshana, who has been a revelation for CSK this season. Another important cog is Dwayne Bravo, whose experience will come in really handy.
For Mumbai, all the remaining games are 'dead rubbers' and they will need to give a 'complete performance' with an improved batting show. Skipper Rohit Sharma (200 runs) will need to lead from the front and Ishan Kishan (321 runs) can build on his half-century in the last game. MI's middle order batters, which crumbled against KKR, will also need to get the act right.
With Suryakumar Yadav ruled out, the likes of Tilak Varma, Tim David, Ramandeep Singh and Kieron Pollard, who has been a failure, will need to take greater responsibility.
In the bowling department, Bumrah found his mojo back and clinched a maiden five-wicket haul in IPL history. But he needs support from other bowlers -- such as Daniel Sams, Riley Meredith and Kumar Kartikeya Singh, who will need to contain the CSK batters.
Mumbai Indians
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Anmolpreet Singh, Rahul Buddhi, Ramandeep Singh, Tilak Verma, Tim David, Arjun Tendulkar, Basil Thampi, Hrithik Shokeen, Jasprit Bumrah, Jaydev Unadkat, Jofra Archer, Mayank Markande, Murugan Ashwin, Riley Meredith, Tristan Stubbs, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, Daniel Sams, Dewald Brevis, Fabian Allen, Kieron Pollard, Sanjay Yadav, Aryan Juyal and Ishan Kishan.
Chennai Super Kings
MS Dhoni (Captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dwayne Bravo, Ambati Rayadu, Robin Uthappa, Mitchell Santner, Chris Jordan, Adam Milne, Devon Conway, Shivam Dube, Dwaine Pretorius, Maheesh Theekshana, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Tushar Deshpande, KM Asif, C Hari Nishaanth, N Jagadeesan, Subhranshu Senapati, K Bhagath Verma, Prashant Solanki, Simarjeet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary.
