The IPL 2020 will finally get underway from September 19 and the first match of the tournament will be played between defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) and last year’s finalists Chennai Super Kings (CSK), at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi from 7.30 PM IST.
Both the teams share a legendary rivalry where MI has the upper hand when it comes to head-to-head stats. Even in the last year’s tournament, MI defeated CSK in all the four matches they played including the playoffs and the final.
Though it is the first match of the tournament and both the teams will experiment when it comes to finding their best playing XI, Team COC presents to you the Predicted Playing XIs of both the teams for the first match of the IPL 2020.
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Starting with the Mumbai Indians, they are blessed to have the majority of their chosen players available for them, with the only glitch being Lasith Malinga opting out of the tournament due to personal reasons. This leaves them without an experienced fast bowler in the XI, who is amazing in death overs.
But they have invested in few good alternatives in Trent Boult and James Pattinson, who may be paired with Jasprit Bumrah in the fast bowling contingent. They also have at their disposal an all-rounder of Nathan Coulter-Nile’s caliber, who bowls at above the 85 mph speed and can hit some lusty shots down the order, if needed.
Coming to the batting department, MI has the benefit of having a settled team since last year, with the likes of Quinton de Kock, Captain Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav giving those amazing starts consistently over the whole IPL 2019. This time, they have the opportunity to bring Chris Lynn into the side as the opener to take advantage of the powerplays.
The middle order is settled with the likes of Kieron Pollard, Hardik, and Krunal Pandya taking care of death overs with their power-hitting abilities. They have won MI matches from impossible situations and will be counted upon to do the same once again.
Krunal may also pair up with leggie Rahul Chahar to form a formidable spin combo, which may come in handy on UAE pitches, which tend to assist spin. the fast bowling department might see the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, and Nathan Coulter-Nile coming in. Bumrah and Boult will have the responsibility of bowling with both the new and old ball, in absence of Lasith Malinga.
Now we move on to the three-time champions Chennai Super Kings, who have been hit hard due to their two veteran players in Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh opting out of IPL 2020 due to personal reasons. This has left MS Dhoni with the headache of finding the perfect balance for the playing XI.
Upon that, they won’t be having the services of young Ruturaj Gaikwad for the first match, as he is yet to pass the COVID-19 test and is still in quarantine. Also, England’s Sam Curran and Australia’s Josh Hazlewood might not be allowed to play in the first match, as they need to undergo possible quarantine time after landing in UAE from England.
This means MS Dhoni needs to try and balance out his playing XI with the resources available to him at the moment. This means M Vijay might get a chance to revive his IPL career, after spending much of the IPL 2018 and 2019 on the bench for CSK. He is expected to partner Shane Watson at the top of the order, while Ambati Rayudu may have to take Raina’s place at no.3 in the batting order.
Apart from this, MS Dhoni, Faf du Plessis, and Ravindra Jadeja, along with Dwayne Bravo, may possibly form the middle order of the Chennai Super Kings for the first match.
As for the bowling department, given that MS Dhoni prefers spin to pace in order to control the match, Jadeja may get help from Piyush Chawla and Karn Sharma in the spin department. Deepak Chahar has been Dhoni’s go-to bowler in the previous two IPLs and he will helm the pace bowling department with South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi and Dwayne Bravo.
The team might get refined over the time the tournament goes on, but Dhoni will need to make do with what he has for the first couple of games atleast.
Predicted MI Playing XI:
Quinton de Kock (WK), Rohit Sharma (C), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah
Predicted CSK Playing XI:
Shane Watson, M Vijay, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (C&WK), Faf du Plessis, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Piyush Chawla, Karn Sharma, Lungi Ngidi
