Finally, the day has come for which many Indian and global cricket fans were eagerly waiting since the beginning of the ongoing pandemic. The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League or IPL 2020 is beginning now with the match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium (Abu Dhabi).
Both these teams are the top successful teams in IPL history as well as the finalists in the IPL 2019. The four-time IPL winners Mumbai Indians are participating in this tournament as the defending champions while the previous season’s runners-up Chennai Super Kings are the three-time IPL champions.
Mumbai Indians won all their last five matches against Chennai Super Kings
Not only in the IPL 2019 final, but Mumbai Indians enjoyed their dominance against Chennai Super Kings in the entire IPL 2019. In the previous IPL season, they met four times (twice in the League stage, once in the Qualifier 1 and once in the final) and Mumbai Indians won all those four matches, including winning by one run in the final.
In fact, the Mumbai franchise has won all their last five matches against their top rivals Chennai franchise. Last time, Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians in the opening game of the IPL 2018 (7th April 2018), where the Yellow Army won by just one wicket at Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai).
Head-to-head records between MI vs CSK
| Stats | Matches | MI Won | CSK Won | Tied (W/L)/No Result |
| Overall | 30 | 18 | 12 | 0/0 |
| In IPL | 28 | 17 | 11 | 0/0 |
| In Tournament opener | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0/0 |
| In UAE | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0/0 |
| In last 5 matches | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0/0 |
| In IPL 2019 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0/0 |
Coming back to the opening match of the IPL 2020, both teams are desperate to make a positive start with a victory.
IPL 2020, Match 1: MI vs CSK – Toss Report
CSK captain MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bowl first.
Dhoni said after winning the toss, “Wanted to know if we can have a slip (in line with social distancing). Will bowl first. Late evening you get dew. Also to keep wicket in good condition they water it, so it tends to be tacky at the start. Have the liberty during lockdown to spend time on yourself to keep fit. Have to applaud every member of the squad. First six days in quarantine is very difficult. Felt each individual used that time well and nobody was disappointed or frustrated. The practice facilities were very good. After the first 14 days it was nice to get out.
“Being a gentleman’s game you don’t think about revenge (against MI). You think about the mistakes you made. Four overseas – Watto, Faf, Sam and Lungi.”
Rohit Sharma said after losing the toss, “Would’ve bowled first as well, gets better under lights. Have been here few weeks, so understand conditions better. Before coming here, we had a camp in Mumbai. Also had quality practice out here in Abu Dhabi. Key here will be to understand conditions. Pitches for the practice matches will be similar to what we’ll get here. Ready to go. Way we’ve been playing cricket for the last couple of years has been good. All in all we’ve had good preparation. Now all about execution.
“Four overseas – Quinton, Pollard, Pattinson, Boult. NCN still not quite match fit with some niggles. Good opportunity for Pattinson who’s been bowling well for Australia.”
Playing XIs
Chennai Super Kings playing XI: Murali Vijay, Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (C/wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Deepak Chahar, Piyush Chawla, Lungi Ngidi
Mumbai Indians playing XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, James Pattinson, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah