Both teams know how to finish at the right end of a result. In fact, they are serial winners in the IPL. Yet, one of them has to lose the big final here on Sunday.
Their record glitters. Both Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians have triumphed in three IPL editions each. The title clash here will put one team in front with four.
Both CSK and MI are proud of their record. They would hate going behind in the race. A lot will be at stake in the Clash of the Titans here.
Form points to Mumbai. After all, the side has got the better of CSK thrice this season; twice in the league, home and away. and then in Qualifier 1.
MI has belief and momentum. But then, you can never quite rule out a side led by M.S. Dhoni in games as huge as this. This face-off could be a ferocious one.
Dhoni has carried his team on his shoulders, smart and pro-active as captain, displaying the fastest hands in the West behind the stumps and bludgeoning the ball with the willow.
Rohit Sharma is a fine captain too, who pulls off heists with his daring bowling changes and innovative field placements and is among the most destructive openers in the shorter formats.
Array of stars
Both sides have an array of stars. However, these matches are not just about ability. Mind games will be at play. Who will blink first?
CSK knows MI, such a well balanced outfit, can be beaten. For that to happen, the Chennai side has to dish out a brand of cricket that is fearless and attacking.
In its previous games against MI this season, CSK had been tentative in batting. And the Mumbai side, with its varied attack, had exploited this approach.
The surface at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium will not encourage spin in the manner the Chepauk wicket did. The dynamics of the contest will be different.
The track here has encouraged strokeplay. Targets have been successfully chased down.
Key player
Faf du Plessis is the key man upfront for CSK. He relishes the crunch games, pulls and cuts pacemen, lofts and sweeps spinners.
Shane Watson too found some hitting form in the last game and if CSK can make the PowerPlay overs count, it will be in the game.
This said, hard running and judicious strokeplay will be vital in the middle-overs, a period of consolidation, before the final onslaught.
Potent attack
Mumbai Indians has bowlers for all stages. Jasprit Bumrah with his speed, control, and yorkers will be a handful.
Along with Bumrah will be that ageless slinger Lasith Malinga; still pacey and dangerous. And then the mercurial and lively Hardik Pandya can strike.
Mumbai Indians’ in-form spinners left-armer Krunal Pandya and leg-spinner Rahul Chahar have been deeply influential.
CSK’s old hand Suresh Raina, an aggressive southpaw, could emerge the game-changer in the middle overs against MI’s spin threat.
While Quinton de Kock, an impressive ’keeper, can dismantle bowling up the order, Mumbai has considerable depth in batting with the likes of Kieron Pollard and the Pandya brothers surfacing late.
CSK’s bowling unit faces a challenge. Dwayne Bravo could be a factor with his changes of pace, angles and length. Swing bowler Deepak Chahar is another effective speedster. And on a flat track, leg-spinner Imran Tahir could still beat batsman in flight, get the ball to turn.
CSK has to find a chink in Mumbai’s armour, creating the sort of pressure that would put MI under stress and force the cracks to open up, whether defending or chasing.
Teams (from):
Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Murali Vijay, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Shorey, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Rituraj Gaikwad, Dwayne Bravo, Karn Sharma, Imran Tahir, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Sharma, K M Asif, Deepak Chahar, N Jagadeesan, Scott Kuggeleijn.
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Yuvraj Singh, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Anmolpreet Singh, Siddhesh Lad, Ankul Roy, Evin Lewis, Pankaj Jaiswal, Ben Cutting, Ishan Kishan, Aditya Tare, Rasikh Salam, Barinder Sran, Jayant Yadav, Beuran Hendricks and Lasith Malinga.
Match starts 7:30 pm.
