INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE 2023

El Clasico hinges on MI's misfiring Big Three

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The tournament's two most experienced captains face off at the Wankhede
The tournament's two most experienced captains face off at the Wankhede © IPL

Mumbai Indians have had a bad start to IPL 2023, but anyone with the slightest knowledge of the game could well say 'so what's new about that?'. Over the years, they have had worse beginnings -- five back-to-back defeats in 2014, five losses in six games in the next season (which they won) and same again in 2018. Lo and behold, they had eight consecutive losses up front last year.

These are early days in the season and one in one is not a concern for the team management as Kieron Pollard, the batting coach, would have one believe on the eve of their first home game of the season, against Chennai Super Kings. But the devil could be in the details. MI's "Big Three" Indian batsmen - Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan - crucial to their campaign, are miserably short on runs.

A cursory glance, and Surya's latest numbers present a depressing picture. The most prolific T20 batsman and also the No. 1 T20I batter in the world, has just 23 runs in the last five competitive innings, across formats. That would still be a non-story if one fails to account for the three successive golden ducks.

Equally meagre are the scores of Ishan, the franchise's highest scorer last season. Scores of 3, 1, 19, 4, 17, 8*, 5, 1, 2 (across formats in international cricket) don't justify his talent and he did not exactly start off the season well -- scoring 10 vs RCB in the first game. Greater things would be expected of the Rs 15.25 crore buy.

Rohit too comes into the IPL without too many international runs under his belt of late. He struggled for 10 balls before getting out for 1 in the first game at the Chinnaswamy. The MI talisman, the most experienced and accomplished IPL and white-ball batter in the franchise, is capable of turning things around. But the team would want him to turn it around fast and very fast. They could, otherwise, face the danger of slipping into another season of opening rut. Remember, after the poor start, they never managed the expected turnaround last season, and finished 10th among 10 teams.

The trio is the most experienced of the lot in the team and MI's hopes hinge enormously on their performances. Pollard, however, felt the entire team needs to fire. "I believe all batters need to fire. I don't think we should single out any one individual. Cricket is played with 11 players," the batting coach said.

As for the match, Mumbai Indians have been dominant against CSK at the home ground Wankhede and overall in the league too, head to head, but they need their bowlers to stop a rampaging Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has hit the ground running this season. His batting on Saturday night could be one of the factors that could determine the outcome of the game, although neither team is short of star power and quality players. The MI brain thrust would be working on the videos of the CSK opener more than any other player in opposition camp.

When:Saturday, April 8th 2023

Where: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

What to expect:Two of the most successful sides in the history of the IPL, who had a torrid 2022 season. Expect them to bring out their very best against each other. Mumbai's batting has been misfiring, as has CSK's bowling -- so in a way, they're somewhat evenly matched. And of course, it's MS Dhoni at the Wankhede.

Quotes

"The tournament has just started for us, so everyone is looking to start the season on a high. Yes, we didn't get off to a great start as a pattern, you know. But in the end, I still feel that we managed to get a decent total vs Bangalore. So, let's see what happens when we play at home in Wankhede." - MI batting coach Kieron Pollard is intent upon focusing on his team's positives.

"Over the last couple of years in particular we have played a lot of games here because of Covid. The players like myself probably came in 2-3 years ago and we don't look at these things (head to head record at the venue). It's a great opportunity to win. Mumbai are an amazing side, just like CSK actually, the two most successful teams in the competition. Another opportunity to go and win." - Moeen Alidoesn't think much of the head-to-head match-ups between two of IPL's most successful sides.

Did you know?Mumbai Indians have the highest win-loss ratio against Chennai Super Kings (58.82%) for all teams who have played a minimum of 5 matches.

Team news

Mumbai Indians: Kieron Pollard claims all are available for selection but one potential change could be Kumar Kartikeya in place of Hrithik Shokeen. Left-arm wrist spinner Kartikeya seems to have impressed Brad Hogg, the Australian spinner of same mould, who is now a consultant with MI. Kartikeya may even be considered as an Impact Player.

Tactics and match-ups:Two of Mumbai's bowlers have been particularly successful against Ambati Rayudu -- Piyush Chawla with 5 wickets in 44 balls, and Jofra Archer with two dismissals in 13 balls. Chawla, however, has conceded at a strike-rate of 154 against Rayudu in those 44 balls, so it may be a double-edged sword to use him against Rayudu in the middle overs.

Probable XI:Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Cameron Green, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Nehal Wadhera, Hrithik Shokeen, Piyush Chawla, Jofra Archer, Arshad Khan

Chennai Super Kings:Having won the last game, CSK are unlikely to change the winning combination but one never knows. They may consider changing the fast-bowling combination of Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande and Rajvardhan Hangargekar, particularly the last two named. Mitchell Santner will continue to play as Maheesh Theekshana is still not here.

Tactics and match-ups:MS Dhoni at the death has Jofra Archer to deal with, against whom his numbers aren't the best -- a strike-rate of 115, with four boundaries in 38 balls faced. Moreover, Dhoni's combined strike-rate against spin has been 91.9 since 2019, and he has really struggled to use his feet to take them on. Even though Dhoni has never been one to give much heed to numbers, the numbers are certainly against Dhoni.

Probable XI:Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w/c), Shivam Dube, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, RS Hangargekar

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