Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians, Indian Premier League 2020, Today Match Prediction 23 Oct 2020

csk vs mi Match Prediction & Analysis

The 41st game in this season’s IPL would see the two finalists from last year battle it out in the middle. The Mumbai Indians are looking in terrific form though the side lost the last game against the Kings XI Punjab in the Super Over. The Chennai Super Kings on the other hand added another loss to their name against the Rajasthan Royals where their batsmen failed to live up to the expectations. 

In head to head contest between the two teams the Mumbai Indians have clearly dominated winning the last five out of six games and would look to continue with the domination. For Chennai Super Kings nothing seems to be working as the side is going from one loss to another. The only silver lining for them ahead of this game is their victory over Mumbai in the season opener and they would try hard to repeat that success. 

TEAMS PREVIEW

Chennai Super Kings Preview

Never in the past 12 seasons has the Chennai Super Kings been at the bottom of the points table well past the midway mark in the season. It just goes to show the disappointment that MS Dhoni’s side has been through. Their batsmen are in poor form and their bowling which was the saving grace last year hasn’t rescued them. One more loss would end all hopes for the side to make it to the next round and Dhoni would have to lead his men from the front in this game. 

Batting has been awful for the team this season and they will need a steady opening wicket stand from Sam Curran and Faf du Plessis in this game. Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu need to build partnerships in the middle. The side needs a good show from MS Dhoni as his form is hurting the side’s confidence. Ravindra Jadeja and Kedar Jadhav will need to play good knocks down the order for the side. 

Deepak Chahar and Josh Hazlewood bowled well with the new ball in the last game and against a strong batting line-up their skills and mindset would be put to test. Rest of the bowlers have had a pretty ordinary season this year and here the likes of Jadeja, Piyush Chawla, Shardul Thakur and Curran will have to come up with a better show with the ball. The side needs to make good use of the depth it has in its bowling. 

Best Batsman – Faf du Plessis     
Best Bowler – Josh Hazlewood

Chennai Super Kings Predicted Playing XI:

MS Dhoni (c & wk), Faf du Plessis, Sam Curran, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jadhav, Deepak Chahar, Piyush Chawla, Shardul Thakur, Josh Hazlewood

Chennai Super Kings Actual Playing XI:

Imran Tahir, Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chahar, SN Thakur, Ravindra Jadeja, Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Narayan Jagadeesan, Sam Curran, MS Dhoni, Josh Hazlewood

Mumbai Indians Preview

It was a loss for Rohit Sharma’s side in the last game where they lost to the Kings XI Punjab in what was one of the most exciting games ever in the history of the tournament. The game went to a 2nd Super Over and Mumbai lost it by a whisker. Rohit would however be proud of the way his side fought in the game and their overall form in lead up to this game. He would be looking to exploit the weakness that CSK has shown so far. 

Their openers Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock have played well this season and the side would look for yet another good start from them. In the middle order Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav missed out in the last game but they have done well previously. It is the lower middle order that adds strength to the side with good hitters in Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard

It was a rare bad day with the ball for Mumbai Indians in the last game and they will look to put that behind. Trent Boult’s form has been poor through the season and the side would need a good effort from him with the new ball alongside Krunal Pandya. Jasprit Bumrah has been good so far and he will be expected to bowl well in the death overs. Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pollard and Rahul Chahar bring in good variety to this bowling attack. 

Top Batsman – Rohit Sharma    
Top Bowler – Jasprit Bumrah
 

Mumbai Indians Predicted Playing XI:

Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah

Mumbai Indians Actual Playing XI:

Nathan Coulter-Nile, Trent Boult, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, SS Tiwary, Jasprit Bumrah, Rahul Chahar, Ishan Kishan, Quinton de Kock, SA Yadav

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The skies over Sharjah would be clear on October 23 and we expect to see another hot and humid evening. The wicket is flat and the batsmen are able to play their strokes freely. Bowlers have struggled in most of the games at this venue this season. The side batting first would need a score in excess of 200 runs to feel comfortable here.

Venue Details

Batsmen can’t ask for a better venue than this one. Sharjah Cricket Stadium has short boundaries, a fast outfield and an absolutely flat pitch. Ball comes onto the bat nicely here and there is nothing in there for the fast bowlers on this surface. The shorter boundaries also make it a nightmare for the spinners here.  

Toss: To Bat

Though the sides batting first have gone on to win the last two games this wicket is a batsmen’s paradise. We have already seen several high scoring games at this venue this season and teams assume it safe to bat first and put up a big score on the board. Hence the side that wins the toss in this game is likely to opt for batting first.