IPL 2019 Final, MI vs CSK: Match preview
The final of IPL 2019 will be played on 12th May at 7.30 PM IST between the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.
MI won the first qualifier against CSK to seal their spot in the finals. On the other hand, CSK entered the finals by defeating the DC in the second qualifier.
Ahead of their meeting tomorrow, let's take a look at the head-to-head stats between the two franchises and the probable playing XIs for the match.
Head-to-head record
The CSK vs MI rivalry has seen 29 matches being played so far. MI have won 17 of those games, while CSK have come out victorious 12 times. Both teams have won the title thrice.
When these teams met each other in the league stage and the playoffs this season, MI won all the three matches.
Probable XI
Mumbai Indians
Rohit Sharma has been inconsistent with the bat this season, and the team would expect him to buckle up and give a solid start in the final. The bowling department is doing pretty well with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Rahul Chahar finding their rhythm.
But the key player for MI is Hardik Pandya, who has excelled with both bat and ball this season.
The only possible change is Mitchell McClenaghan replacing Jayant Yadav. But MI will take this call only after assessing the pitch on the match day.
There are no other changes expected in the team which defeated CSK in the first qualifier match.
Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton de Kock (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Jayant Yadav / Mitchell McClenaghan, Rahul Chahar, Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah
Chennai Super Kings
The CSK openers gave a solid performance in the match against DC, and CSK would expect them to replicate a similar performance again in the final. Their main concern will be the form of Suresh Raina.
The spin duo of Imran Tahir and Harbhajan Singh, meanwhile, are doing their job very well.
Shardul Thakur bowled only one over in the second qualifier match against DC. He will keep his place if CSK decide to go with six bowling options, or else Murali Vijay will come back to the team.
Probable XI: Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Murali Vijay / Shardul Thakur, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir.
Squads
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma(C), Quinton de Kock, Ishan Kishan, Evin Lewis, Adam Milne, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga, Siddhesh Lad, Mitchell McClenaghan, Rahul Chahar, Ben Cutting, Jason Behrendorff, Yuvraj Singh, Mayank Markande, Aditya Tare, Anukul Roy, Suryakumar Yadav, Anmolpreet Singh, Rasikh Salam, Barinder Sran, Pankaj Jaiswal.
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (C), Faf du Plessis, Kedar Jadhav, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Shane Watson, Harbhajan Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Murali Vijay, Lungisani Ngidi, Dhruv Shorey, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir, Mitchell Santner, Dwayne Bravo, Sam Billings, Shardul Thakur, N Jagadeesan, Karn Sharma, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Monu Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KM Asif, David Willey.