Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and chose to bat first against Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk, with CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad admitting he would also have preferred to bat initially. The decision sets up a typical Chepauk challenge for the chasing side, where early control and reading the surface often matter as much as raw pace.
Hardik felt the wicket should behave in a manner similar to what teams encountered during the T20 World Cup in February, when India posted 256 for 4 against Zimbabwe, who replied with 184 for 6. He also pointed to the most recent IPL outing on this ground in early April, when Punjab Kings chased down 210 with more than an over to spare against CSK.
There was a notable absence from the marquee matchup as neither MS Dhoni nor Rohit Sharma had recovered from injury in time to feature in the IPL’s El Clasico.
For Mumbai, the playing XI included a debut for wristspinner Raghu Sharma, while the side also welcomed back rookie seamer Krish Bhagat. Ashwani Kumar and Shardul Thakur were left out of the XI. Raghu received his cap from Hardik and is expected to be used as the Impact Sub once MI complete their bowling innings later in the evening.
CSK, meanwhile, made changes of their own with Ramakrishna Ghosh handed an IPL debut. The Maharashtra allrounder brings an inswinging stock ball and can also operate effectively at the death. Prashant Veer returned to the XI as a left-arm spin-bowling allrounder, replacing Gurjapneet Singh and Akeal Hosein, who had previously produced a four-wicket haul against MI at the Wankhede. With CSK looking at potential Impact Player options for the chase, Sarfaraz Khan or Kartik Sharma is set to come in, and given the overseas-heavy combination, Matt Short could also be available.
Playing XIs
Chennai Super Kings bowl-first XI: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Urvil Patel, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Prashant Veer, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary.
Impact Subs bench: Kartik Sharma, Akeal Hosein, Sarfaraz Kham, Matt Short, Gurjapneet Singh.
Mumbai Indians bat-first XI: Ryan Rickelton (wk), Will Jacks, Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (capt), Robin Minz, Krish Bhagat, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar.
Impact Subs bench: Raj Bawa, Raghu Sharma, Mayank Rawat, Shardul Thakur, Ashwani Kumar.
