IPL 2024: Predicting 3 players who could pick up the most wickets in today's MI vs CSK match
At the moment, there's some confusion among the IPL fans as to which rivalry is the 'El Clasico' equivalent of the tournament. But given that 'El Clasico' translates to, 'The Classic', it's only natural that we associate it with the biggest and the most weighty battle - Mumbai Indians (MI) taking on Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Both franchises are level on five IPL trophies. And no team has managed to even come close. But on Sunday, when they play at the Wankhede Stadium in the evening game of the double-header, trophies would be the last thing on their mind.
That's because although MI have won a couple of games after a bad start, the wins came against two of the weakest sides in the competition. On the other hand, CSK's three wins came at home while both their losses were away games.
Whichever team breaks the pattern will have to do so through their bowlers. At the Wankhede, anything is chaseable, especially in evening games, and batting opponents out of a contest seems impossible.
Below, we have predicted three bowlers whose contributions could make a difference for their teams:
#3 Deepak Chahar
CSK's lead Indian pacer Deepak Chahar hasn't been able to find his form yet in IPL 2024 but this match has a lot going in his favor. He has 11 wickets in 10 matches at the Wankhede, including his IPL-best spells of 4/13 and 4/29.
Although neither four-fer came against MI (in 2021, the Wankhede hosted most of the non-MI matches due to the Covid-19 pandemic), Chahar has 13 wickets in as many matches against the Men in Blue and Gold at an average of 25.15.
The early help available for fast bowlers would bring a sigh of relief to the right-arm pacer. Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan both struggle against swing and he got them out the last time he played against MI too. If he hits the right lengths early on, he might end up with even more wickets this time.
#2 Mustafizur Rahman
It's been a mad couple of weeks for Mustafizur Rahman in the IPL. He started the tournament with a bang and immediately led the Purple Cap race but then had to miss a game due to some visa issues. By the time he returned to Chepauk, the pitch had changed from a pacer's deck to the typical spinner's heaven.
Still, the Bangladeshi has nine wickets in four games at an average of 14.22 in IPL 2024. And he'll be more than happy going to the Wankhede where his swing, an ability to extract extra bounce off the surface, and later on, a host of variations and different angles, would all come in handy against MI.
CSK and their fans won't be wrong to expect him to continue his wicket-taking form and now lead their charge for a first away win in IPL 2024.
#1 Jasprit Bumrah
MI should build Jasprit Bumrah a statue for what he has done this season. If not for him, they would have found it difficult to even win the two matches they have so far. After his record-shattering five-wicket haul against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), he has 10 wickets in five games at an average of 11.90 in IPL 2024.
Bumrah doesn't have a great record (by his standards) against CSK but the last time they came to Wankhede, in 2022, he offered them a brilliant spell of 1/12.
Two years on, he's on a peak never achieved by any Indian pacer before and if MI have to defeat CSK, it'd require a big contribution from Bumrah. And given his perhaps sky-high confidence after RCB, you'd bet against him at your own peril.