MI and CSK will square off at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
The two teams share a long-standing rivalry and have a strong fanbase. Both the franchises have won the IPL titles five teams.
On the eve of the high-voltage encounter, former Indian cricketers Suresh Raina has tipped MI as favorites. He believes the Hardik Pandya-led side has significant edge over CSK ahead of the re-match between the two teams.
CSK had defeated MI by four wickets in their season opener at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on March 23. Both teams are currently languishing in the bottom half of the points table – MI at the seventh spot and CSK at the last position.
“MI looks very, very strong. They won a very, very good game in Delhi. Against CSK's top-order, Trent Boult's role will be critical because he bowls a good line and has a good yorker. Tilak Varma is in a different gun form. So, here I feel MI has the upper hand over CSK because they have a lot of power hitters. Karn Sharma is in good flow and has played for CSK as well.”
“This game is important for both teams because the matches they win from now onwards will help them climb up in the points table. It is a very, very important match for CSK, as MI are already coming after wins. If CSK wins, then the league stage pool will become a lot more interesting,” said Raina, as quoted by IANS.
According to Raina, CSK bowlers namely Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed and Matheesha Pathirana will hold a key against MI.
“The ones who can prove to be true ace players for CSK are Matheesha Pathirana and Khaleel Ahmed.”
“Not to forget, the way Noor Ahmed has bowled, because you will see Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Verma, Rohit Sharma – they all play a lot of sweep shots. So, their strength in the middle overs is the wrong 'un and can slip in a slider as well. So, they will have to play against him a little carefully there,” he added.
At the Wankhede Stadium, the Mumbai Indians have won seven times against the CSK, while suffering five defeats.
“I remember whenever we played at Wankhede, the toss used to be very vital. The power-play of six overs, whether you are defending or setting targets, it is very important to bat very well in those six overs,” Raina said.
“If you lose one wicket in six overs on this wicket, whether the total is 70, 80, or 90, who handles the pressure better amongst these two teams with five trophies each, will be the key. But as I said, MI has the upper hand over CSK,” he remarked.
Suresh Raina also expressed concerns over CSK’s batting unit not being able to reduce the number of dot balls.
“I think the intent is missing because we're losing a lot of wickets in power-play, and CSK has been playing a lot of dot balls. They have to have that mindset of playing the least number of dot balls and looking to rotate the strike. When you're batting in the first six overs, you have to go hard in power play.”
“Then the game will change from overs 7-14, where you can identify the bowler for hitting fours and sixes, as well as use their pace and run hard between the wickets. You have to play less number of dot balls, and if CSK has to beat MI, they have to play their A game,” he concluded.
(With IANS Inputs)