The heat is building up as we approach the opening match of Mumbai Indians against Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. The first match of the IPL will be preceded by a grand opening ceremony. After which the real action will begin. The carnival which will last for 51 days and 60 matches is ready to occupy the hearts and minds of Indian fans.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians will be taking on the team that is returning from the two-year abyss, Chennai Super Kings. Both the teams have a great winning history behind them and are two of the strongest in terms of fan following. They have always been high-profile thus the clash will be mouth-watering.
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When it comes to head-to-head count, Mumbai has an advantage over Chennai. In last 8 years, Mumbai and Chennai have played against each other 22 times in which Mumbai has won 12 encounters while CSK has won 10 times. Here are what the probable team combinations will be for the first match of the season.
Mumbai Indians:
Playing at home, MI knows the conditions better and is expert at using the conditions to complement their strengths. This being the first match, there will be a slight nervousness while approaching the pitch and the playing XI.
Over the years, we know that a team usually takes the first two-three matches to settle into a combination after which it is mostly ‘horses for courses’. Mumbai has maintained its strong core unit and has only a few spots where it will try and experiment.
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With so many fast bowlers in the squad, the pitch at Wankhede is likely to be a fast and bouncy track. The closeness to sea will help early swing. Still, it will be cultivated heavily to assist batting since that is the strong area of Mumbai.
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The probable XI is –
Evin Lewis (O), Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, Surya Kumar Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard (O), Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Rahul Chahar, Pat Cummins (O), Mustafizur Rehman (O).
Chennai Super Kings:
The team is returning to the IPL after two years but all its players were involved in the IPL with different franchises so there will not be any rustiness. Chennai this year picked a heavily experienced team along with few fairly unknown faces. The average age of players picked on the first day of the auction by CSK was 33.
On the second day, they managed to find some youngsters and now the average age of the squad is 25. They will miss the kiwi All-rounder Mitchell Santner for the whole season. But they have enough spinners to cover up.
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The real worry for CSK is their fast bowling department. They do not have an experienced Indian fast bowler. Their bowling attack is led by Shardul Thakur who can blow hot or cold. One more weakness that CSK has is a lack of a true power hitter. The weakness will be magnified at Wankhede which is known for its run-giving generosity.
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The probable XI is –
Murali Vijay, Sam Billings (O), Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Dwayne Bravo (O), Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh/ Imran Tahir (O), Mark Wood (O), Shardul Thakur.
