Five Time IPL winners and defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will be locking horns against their fierce rivals Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 29th match of IPL 2024 at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. This game is going to be a must win game for both the teams as Chennai are sitting at third position in the points table currently and MI on the other hand are at the seventh spot. If Hardik Pandya led Mumbai Indians defeat CSK then they would be level on points with the Men in Yellow.
The Super Kings are coming into this game on the back of a dominating victory against the Kolkata Knight Riders. The Bowling unit of the Chennai based franchise performed really well and their batting unit got the job done without facing any issues against KKR. The Ruturaj Gaikwad led team would be looking to continue their winning momentum against MI by defeating them in front of the Mumbai fans. Ahead of the MI vs CSK game, let’s take a look at how the Defending Champions will line up at the Wankhede Stadium.
Table of Contents
Chennai Super Kings strongest playing 11 against Mumbai Indians:
Openers: Ruturaj Gaikwad (Captain) and Rachin Ravindra
The recently appointed skipper of the Super Kings, Ruturaj Gaikwad had one of his best outings against the Kolkata Knight Riders in terms of his captaincy and his batting. His important half century against the two time IPL winners helped Chennai get over the line in their previous encounter. Gaikwad would be looking to carry on his good form in the game which is going to be the biggest challenge of his Captaincy career.
Rachin Ravindra would be Gaikwad’s opening partner at the other end and he had an excellent start to his IPL career in the initial two games as helped CSK get off to good starts with his dynamic batting. But, in the last three games, the Kiwi batter has not looked in good nick. He has been trying to smash every ball for a six which is leading to his downfall. The CSK opener will have to target just the bad balls and show some respect to the good balls.
Middle Order: Shivam Dube, Ajknkya Rahane and MS Dhoni
Shivam Dube has performed exceptionally well for the Chennai Super Kings whenever he has got the chance to bat. He has scored 176 runs for the Chennai based franchise in five games with his inning of 51 runs against the Gujarat Titans being his highest score in IPL 2024. Dube prefers to bat in the middle phase of a game when the spinners are introduced into the attack and he loves to smash the spinners to all corners of the ground. The 30 year old has been the best batter of the Men in Yellow and he will be looking to play an important role for his side against MI.
Veteran batter Ajinkya Rahane has continued his excellent aggressive form from last year and has proven to be a crucial player for CSK in the middle order. His aggressive approach allows the Super Kings to maintain a high run rate during the middle overs and he can prove to be the main player for the five time winners against Mumbai Indians. He has played majority of his Domestic Cricket at the Wankhede Stadium and knows the pitch better than the others.
CSK’s legendary former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has carried forward his outstanding batting form of last season to IPL 2024 and his batting displays are providing some serious entertainment to the fans. Known for his ability to play big shots at will and finishing games in a swift fashion, the 42 year old rewinded the clock with his incredible unbeaten knock of 37 runs against the Delhi Capitals at Visakhapatnam and although he wasn’t able to help his side get over the line, the fans got their money’s worth watching Dhoni bat. He hasn’t got a lot of chances to bat this year but we all know what he’s capable of and his impact will count when CSK are in desperate need of some quick runs. The 42 year old would be looking to create an instant impact with both the bat and the Wicket Keeping gloves against Mumbai Indians.
All Rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur and Daryl Mitchell
Sir Ravindra Jadeja is looking in some good touch in IPL 2024 and his brilliant spell of 3-18 against KKR in the previous game helped him get the Man of the match award. His contributions with the bat have helped CSK a lot and on the field, there’s no better fielder out there than him. The only thing which is lacking for him is the aggressive approach and he can improvise on his approach against the Mumbai Indians.
Shardul Thakur played his first game of the season against KKR and impressed in the first game as he used the slower deliveries and short pitched balls to the best effect and didn’t allow any batter to target him. He can play a crucial role for CSK with both the bat and the ball as he knows the ground well and performs exceptionally well at the Wankhede Stadium.
Kiwi all rounder Daryl Mitchell was purchased for a huge sum of 14 crore rupees at the 2024 IPL auction and he has made some effective contributions for CSK this year. He has scored 118 runs in five games so far and even picked up a wicket against Gujarat Titans. The 32 year old is known to play the role of the supporter majority of the times if his partner at the other end is looking in good touch but once he settles at the crease, he can smash sixes at will. He played a brilliant inning of 134 runs in 119 balls against India which included seven maximums in the 2023 ODI World Cup semi final at Wankhede and he will have fond memories of that knock. Mitchell would like to make a crucial impact for CSK against the Mumbai Indians.
Bowlers: Mustafizur Rahman, Maheesh Theekshana and Tushar Deshpande
Mustafizur Rahman will be up against his former IPL franchise Mumbai Indians when he takes the field for CSK at the Wankhede Stadium. The Chennai seamer will be looking to make full use of the new short ball rule and his cutters to full effect in the upcoming game. The 28 year old is also in contention for the Purple Cap and would want to get wickets against his former franchise and wear the Purple Cap once again
Sri lankan spinner Maheesh Theekshana returned to the CSK playing 11 against KKR and he looked in good rhythm with the ball as gave away just 28 runs and managed to get a wicket next to his name as well. Ruturaj Gaikwad might be tempted to use Theekshana in the powerplay and hope that he dismisses the openers early on in the game.
The Indian pacer has become one of the first names on the team sheet for the Chennai Super Kings. He is also in the running for the purple cap just like Mustafizur Rahman and his display in the previous match has pushed him up in the leaderboard of the top wicket-takers for the side. The bowler would be hoping for early wickets for the franchise in the upcoming encounter at the Wankhede stadium.
Tushar Deshpande has become a regular starter for the Chennai Super Kings since IPL 2023 as his exceptional displays with the ball have helped his team to keep the opposition batters quiet. He is known to swing the ball with a good amount of pace and he bowls well in the death overs as well. He plays his Domestic Cricket for Mumbai and is pretty aware about the pitch of Wankhede Stadium. The 28 year old would be looking to trouble the MI batters with his quick swinging deliveries and help CSK win the match against the Mumbai Indians.
Predicted playing 11 of CSK against MI
Ruturaj Gaikwad (Captain), Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana and Mustafizur Rahman.
Impact players – Sameer Rizvi and Deepak Chahar
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