IPL 2019, Match 15: MI vs CSK Predicted Playing 11, Preview & Key Players
On song Chennai Super Kings will visit the Wankhede Stadium to take on Mumbai Indians in the 15th game of IPL 2019 on Wednesday, April 3.
Head to Head Overall Stats: Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have gone head-to-head in 26 league games. MI lead the scoreline at 14-12. In their last five clashes, the hosts hold a clear advantage by securing four wins.
Head to Head in Wankhede Stadium: The Wankhede has witnessed eight games between these two sides, with the hosts winning 5 of them.
Pitch Report: The Wankhede is known for its ideal batting track and high-scoring games. However, seamers might get some assistance with the new ball.
Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians have won one and lost two out of the three IPL games and are coming off an eight-wicket defeat at the hands of Kings XI Punjab. Their recent head to head record against the defending champions will certainly boost their morale and will be eager to break the opponent's unbeaten streak.
Batting
Key Players - Quinton de Kock, Rohit Sharma & Yuvraj Singh
Quinton de Kock is MI's top performer with 110 runs in three games and the team will need him to lay down another strong performance against Chennai. Rohit Sharma played a quickfire 32 runs knock against KXIP and the skipper will be eager to make it better against CSK. The middle order duties will be born by Yuvraj Singh and Hardik Pandya, both of whom have performed well in previous games. The skipper will need them to give their best against the buoyant Kings.
Bowling
Key Players - Jasprit Bumrah & Krunal Pandya
Krunal Pandya was their sole wicket-taker against Punjab with two wickets, and the all-rounder will be expected to clinch few in the next game too. While Jasprit Bumrah has picked four scalps in three games, he failed to pick a wicket last game, but was most economical of the lot with figures of 0/23 in 3.4 overs. Jason Behrendorff has returned from internation duties and is most likely to start his first game for MI this season. Behrendorff and Bumrah will be Rohit's trump card against CSK.
Expected Playing XI
Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Yuvraj Singh, Kieron Pollard, Quinton de Kock (W), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Jason Behrendorff, Lasith Malinga, Mayank Markande and Jasprit Bumrah.
Chennai Super Kings
On the flipside, Chennai Super Kings are riding on momentum and are comfortably placed at the pole position in the IPL Points Table. Dhoni's men are high on confidence and look set to end their poor run at the Wankhede.
Batting
Key Players - Shane Watson, Suresh Raina & MS Dhoni
Skipper MS Dhoni (75 runs from 46 balls) led from the front against the Royals to save his team from early jolts. He was well supported by Suresh Raina, who played a steady knock of 36 runs from 32 balls to help the team post a decent total. CSK will need these two along with Shane Watson to make strong contributions against Mumbai.
Ambati Rayudu's form (38 runs in three games) might be a cause of concern for CSK as he has not been able to cope up with the expectations this season. Another failure with the bat might see him drop to the bench.
Bowling
Key Players - Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar & Dwayne Bravo
Imran Tahir and Dwayne Bravo are CSK's leading wicket-takers with six wickets each and are likely to pose major threat to Mumbai batters. Deepak Chahar was the pick of the lot last time with figures of 2-19 from four overs and he will be backed by the team to clinch few early wickets.
Expected Playing XI
MS Dhoni (C & W), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir, Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina and Kedar Jadhav.