The second leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) is set to begin on Sunday, 19th September with rivals Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) going head to head.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra has predicted Rohit Sharma’s Mi to win the opening encounter over MS Dhoni-led CSK.
"I am putting my neck on the block, you can make the memes. I am going with Mumbai Indians to win," Aakash Chopra said on his Youtube channel.
He added that finger-spinners will create more impact than wrist-spinners and naturally selected CSK’s Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja as the key players.
"Finger fingers to pick more wickets than wrist spinners. You might see Tahir and Chawla play, Rahul Chahar will surely play. But Moeen Ali and Jaddu will do a fairly good job on this big ground. They will be taking more wickets," Chopra said.
"The first boundary to be scored within the first ten balls. I am expecting a bit of caution - an inside edge or outside edge or a boundary on the legs. I don't think you will see free-flowing cricket right at the outset. Everybody might just start with a bit of caution,” he added.
He added that the Dubai pitch offers movement to the bowlers and said at least one wicket, if not more could fall in the powerplay.
"The first wicket will surely fall in the first four overs, it is possible two might also fall. The last time when the first match was played in Dubai, the pitch was hard and had grass, there was a lot of sideways movement available. Even though you might play cautiously, despite that Deepak Chahar, Bumrah or Boult - whoever bowls, they will still get you out," Chopra signed off.
