At the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to bowl against arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings in the much-anticipated second chapter of this season’s IPL ‘El Clasico’.
Chennai kicked off its campaign with a comfortable victory over Mumbai. Since then, a lot has changed for both sides. Chennai went on a five-match losing streak but managed to return to winning ways with a comfortable five-wicket triumph over Lucknow Super Giants in their previous fixture. For Chennai, Ayush Mahtre, who came in as the replacement for injured Ruturaj Gaikwad, has replaced out-of-form Rahul Tripathi.
Mumbai also suffered defeats in patches but found the winning momentum since the return of Jasprit Bumrah. Since Bumrah’s comeback, MI has tasted success with two victories on the trot. With both sides hunting a spot in the top four, a victory will be crucial in bolstering their hopes.
After winning the toss, Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya revealed the reason behind his decision and said, “We are gonna bowl first. It looks like a very good wicket. Same wicket we played against RCB. That gives us a chance to look at the wicket, identify our plans. It has a good covering of grass and will be a good batting wicket. Just executing our plans and doing what’s working for us. That’s exciting, we have not played to our potential, and it gives us an opportunity every game to play to our potential. The man behind me, everyone knows how exciting it is when he comes, CSK v MI is always exciting. Same team.”
Playing XI
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Ryan Rickelton(w), Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashwani KumarChennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Shaik Rasheed, Rachin Ravindra, Ayush Mhatre, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Vijay Shankar, Jamie Overton, MS Dhoni(w/c), Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana.
