Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the two most successful teams in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL), will lock horns in the Match 33 of this year's championship on Thursday night, at the D.Y. Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai. Both teams have had a pathetic season so far: they are languishing at the bottom of the 10-team points table.
Five-time champions Mumbai are yet to win a match this season. They are yet to figure out the ideal combination for the new-look side. Their bowling has looked toothless as Jasprit Bumrah, their spearhead, has gone wicketless in four of the six matches so far, while others have failed to tame the opponent batters. Comparatively, Jaydev Unadkat has done a more than a decent job.
The lean patch of their opening batters, Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan, has hurt them. In the middle order, the likes of Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, and Tilak Varma have taken up the responsibility of bulk of the run-scoring. Down the order, the big-hitting skills of Kieron Pollard are yet to come on display in this IPL.
Defending champions and four-time winners Chennai, too, have issues with their top order batting. However, with opener Ruturaj Gaikwad returning to form, things are looking a bit better for them.
Their primary concern is their bowling. In the absence of Deepak Chahar, Chennai have failed to use the new ball properly, while their spinners are not getting much assistance on these flat decks. However, since the inclusion of Maheesh Theekshana in the XI, the attack seems a bit more threatening than before.
Likely XIs
Mumbai Indians: Ishan Kishan (wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Kieron Pollard, Fabian Allan, Jaydev Unadkat, Murugan Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Tymal Mills
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (c), Dwaine Pretorius, Dwayne Bravo, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary
Fantasy tips
- Pretorius is likely to replace Chris Jordan in the CSK XI. You can pick him in your fantasy XI considering the fact that he will bowl at the death.
- Brevis vs CSK spinners will be an interesting battle. Back Brevis to come on top.
- Gaikwad found his touch in the last game. Back him to continue his form in this game.
Where to watch
Live streaming of Match 33 of IPL 2022 between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will start at 7.30 PM IST on April 21. You can watch the match on the Star Sports Network and Hotstar.