Dwayne Bravo of CSK has been ruled out from further participation recently due to a groin injury. Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians are set to face Chennai Super Kings for the second time in IPL 2020.
They have met each other in 29 matches with the former winning 17 and the latter only 12. Although CSK have won the opening match against MI, CSK are at the bottom while MI are placed 3rd in IPL 2020.
Mumbai Indians Face CSK In Return Clash As MI Wants To Avenge Defeat While CSK Must Win To Stay In Playoff Race
This year, the two teams meet yet again in the return clash on Friday amidst chances that one more defeat may rule out CSK’s chances of progressing ahead in the tournament. The MS Dhoni-led side has lost 7 out of 10 games so far, but one of their 3 wins came against Mumbai Indians.
The two arch-rival teams have shared an intense rivalry since the inauguration of the tournament way back in 2008, and it isn’t surprising that both CSK and MI have emerged as the two most successful teams in the history of the tournament.
While MI have won four titles all under Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni has led CSK to three IPL titles over the years as CSK qualified every time for playoffs.
But CSK had a poor IPL 2020 after suffering seven defeats with their aged players like Kedar Jadhav and Piyush Chawla’s failure to perform. MS Dhoni too had an indifferent year with both bat and as captain. The decision to back Kedar Jadhav and ignoring the likes of Imran Tahir has also backfired.
With Dwayne Bravo ruled out after being injured and no replacements being named for Harbhajan Singh and Suresh Raina, CSK are at dire straits to be in top four.
The likes of Rituraj Gaekwad and Narayan Jagadeesan haven’t been given enough opportunities. In contrast, Imran Tahir, Mitchell Santner, KM Asif, R Sai Kishore and Monu Kumar haven’t played a single match. Lungi Ngidi hasn’t been given a chance later despite picking 4 wickets in 2 matches.
Dwayne Bravo Recalls Incident From IPL 2013
CSK all-rounder Dwayne Bravo spoke in a recent episode of Star Sports’ chat show where there was a segment titled Rivalry Week in which CSK and MI stars recalled some of the moments between the present players of the two teams in the past.
Speaking on the show, CSK allrounder Dwayne Bravo, who had flown back after getting ruled out of the tournament due to an injury, recalled an incident from IPL 2013 when Kieron Pollard had texted him to pack his bags as he expected Chennai to lose, but the opposite happened.
“Pollard sent me a WhatsApp message saying, ‘Pack your bags. You are going home.’ And I was like ok, no problem. CSK qualified and had to play Mumbai in the playoffs,” Bravo recalled.
“And who was the person going home? Pollard. That’s why I gave him the send-off,” he further said.
Meanwhile, CSK off-spinner Harbhajan Singh who did not travel to the UAE to join CSK camp citing personal reasons, further said: “The 2013 finals was a great game. It was satisfying thing to beat CSK since they had beaten MI in the previous finals. The rivalry quotient had increased from then.”
Dwayne Bravo missed initial matches but returned after recovering from injury in six matches scoring only seven runs and picking up six wickets averaging 30 before injury struck again and ruled him out from further participation.