IPL 2023 will see the first el classico on April 08 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings is one of the best clashes in the Indian Premier League (IPL) history.
The two teams have a very rich history and we will see the two teams locking horns in the 12th game of IPL 2023. CSK made a strong comeback after losing their first game against Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL 2023. They played their first game at M. Chidambaram Stadium and we saw the enthusiasm of the home team’s crowd.
Chennai Super Kings vs Lucknow Super Giants IPL 2023
Chennai Super Kings played to their strength of applying pressure on the opposition with their spinners in their home game. They batted first and their openers, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway gave the team to a very good start. The former scored another 50 and the latter scored 47 off 29 balls.
At one stage, they lost a couple of quick wickets. But Ambati Rayudu’s quick fire cameo of 27 off 14 balls and MS Dhoni also hit two sixes in the end. CSK posted a very good total of 217.
In reply, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) made a strong start as well. Kyle Mayers again showed his class and along with KL Rahul, he added 79 runs for the first wicket in quick time.
But as soon as the spinners came into the attack, they got the better of LSG batters. Especially Moeen Ali was outstanding with the ball. He took 4 important wickets and stop the run flow.
In the end, LSG fell 12 runs short of CSK’s target.
On the other hand, MI continues its streak of losing the first game of the season since IPL 2013.
RCB bowled first after winning the toss and the pacers were on the money in the powerplay. MI were 29 for 3 after the first 6 overs. All three pacers,
Tilak Varma continued to play well and looked good. But he ran out of partners. In the end, he finished with a score of 84 off 46 balls with 9 fours and 4 sixes. Arshad Khan remains not out on 15 off 9 balls.
RCB openers, Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli didn’t give a sniff to the MI bowlers. They were outstanding in the powerplay, scoring 53 in that period.
Both the batters continued to go well after the powerplay and made a match-winning partnership of 148. RCB chased down the target with 8 wickets and 22 balls to spare.
Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings Probable Playing XI
CSK predicted XI-
CSK might bring in Dwaine Pretorius in place of Mitch Santner considering the pitch at Wahkhede. Chennai’s strength is their spinners in their home game in Chepauk, where the ball might grip and turn a bit. But there will be a completely different condition in Mumbai.
Although Mitch Santner has done well in the last game, Dwaine Pretorius will be one of the options.
➢ CSK Predicted playing XI-
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c) and (wk), Shivam Dube, Mitch Santner/ Dwaine Pretorius, Deepak Chahar, RS Hangargekar
Mumbai Indians predicted playing XI-
Mumbai Indians could replace H Shokeen with a batting all-rounder and use J Behrendorff as an impact player. It will give MI more batting depth and an extra bowling option as well. Otherwise, it is too early to judge the performance of players just after one game.
➢ MI Predicted playing XI-
Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), SK Yadav, Cameron Green, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Nehal Wadhera, H Shokeen/ Ramandeep Singh, Piyush Chawla, Jofra Archer, Arshad Khan
Players to watch out for
Chennai Super Kings
Ruturaj Gaikwad
With the way he is playing and the form he is in, there is no big thing that he will play another important inning in the third game of CSK. He is one of the most consistent players for the Chennai Super Kings in the last couple of seasons.
Ben Stokes
A player like Ben Stokes could be dangerous, especially after the two back-to-back failures. He will be eager to contribute to the team against the el classico of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Mumbai Indians
Jofra Archer
He will create an impact sooner than later. His first outing in the IPL after 2021 is not up to his standard. He went wicketless in the game against RCB.
The English pacer has done well in the IPL and could be the one player in the IPL 2023 going forward in the tournament.
SK Yadav
SKY is one of the players who is one of the consistent performers for MI over the last couple of years. His another good performance is around the corner and we could see him doing well against MI’s arch-rival CSK.
MI vs CSK Pitch report
Wankhede’s pitch provides good bounce and comes nicely onto the bat. There will be some assistance for pacers with the new ball. MI will look to produce a good performance in their home game.
Till now, both teams have played 34 games against each other. MI has won 20 games while CSK has managed to win 14 games. Let’s see who will win the clash between MI and CSK in IPL 2023.
What do you think? Who will win this time around? Comment your predictions below.
