The wait is finally over for the cricketing enthusiasts, as the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament kicks off tomorrow (April 7) at the historic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The tournament will step into a new decade when defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) will take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Over the years, this has been a fascinating contest and an enthralling experience for the fans.
Meanwhile, both the sides look extremely strong on paper and will look to get a perfect start.
Mumbai, however, will have a lot of pressure going into the league as defending champions.
Moreover, they have won the title thrice, the most by any franchise. While CSK is making a comeback after serving a two years ban. Prior to the ban, CSK made it the qualifiers in all the editions.
Prior to the auctions in January, Indians retained Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Hardik Pandya. They further went to use the right-to-match card for Krunal Pandya and Kieron Pollard during the auction.
Mumbai have a strong squad with an outstanding bowling line-up. They have the likes of Bumrah, Mustafizur Rahman, and Pat Cummins to hurry the batsmen.
While, CSK retained MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, and Suresh Raina and used the right-to-match card for Dwayne Bravo and Faf du Plessis. They have a lot of experience on their side with the likes of Harbhajan Singh and Shane Watson.
Match Details:
Mumbai Indians (MI) vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
Date: April 7, 2018
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
Time: 20:00 IST
Squad:
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (skipper), Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Mustafizur Rahman, Pat Cummins, Suryakumar Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Rahul Chahar, Evin Lewis, Saurabh Tiwary, Ben Cutting, Pradeep Sangwan, Jean-Paul Duminy, Tajinder Singh, Sharad Lumba, Siddhesh Lad, Aditya Tare, Mayank Markande, Akila Dananjaya, Anukul Roy, Mohsin Khan, MD Nidheesh, Mitchell McClenaghan
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (skipper), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Faf du Plessis, Harbhajan Singh, Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Kanishk Seth, Lungi Ngidi, Dhruv Shorey, Murali Vijay, Sam Billings, Mark Wood, Kshitiz Sharma, Monu Kumar, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur, N Jagadeesan
Match Prediction:
The Mumbai-based side is usually known to be a slow starter but will look to get off to a flier this time.
However, they have done reasonably well against Chennai in the past. Moreover, they have defeated them in two finals which adds to their impressive CV for the opener.
With a strong batting line-up and quality all-rounder, Mumbai Indians is likely to win the season opener.
In overall 22 matches between two teams, Indians registered 12 wins as Dhoni-led Super Kings walked away with 10.
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