IPL 6: 1st Qualifier - CSK vs MI - Mumbai Indians Preview

After a long hard fought league stage in this year’s Indian Premier League, it’s time now for the big games. MI, CSK, RR and SRH are the teams which have made it to the play-offs. CSK and MI have managed to finish 1st and 2nd respectively, which will give them 2 chances to make it to the final this year.

The 1st qualifier is awaiting us today at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Delhi, when the two IPL giants, CSK and MI clash against each other. The winning team will make it to the final, while the losing team will get another chance to make it to the big stage in the 2nd qualifier against RR or SRH, whoever wins the eliminator. However, both the teams are coming from a defeat in their last games, which might have broken their momentum a bit coming into the knockouts.

MI have been pretty impressive this season, which is not surprising considering their consistent performances in all the previous seasons. But somehow they haven’t managed to win a single edition of the tournament so far. However, this season, they are well on their way, and are definitely looking good to lift the trophy. There have been very few reasons to ponder over regarding their batting so far, with almost all the batsmen striking the ball well. Sachin Tendulkar missed the last 2 games due to injury, and is doubtful for today’s fixture as well. MI are likely to continue with Aditya Tare if the Little Master is declared unfit.

Dwayne Smith has been consistent, piling up useful runs opening the batting, and might replace Glenn Maxwell today. Maxwell could not impress many in the last few games he played. Dinesh Karthik has been among the runs all season, and seems to have resurrected himself in the shortest format of the game. Skipper Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard have been simply stupendous at the death overs, giving the oppositions some nightmares to deal with.

The MI bowlers have been bang-on right from the word go. Despite being surprisingly left out in the last game, Mitchell Johnson has led them very well, and has been brilliant with the new ball, swinging it both ways. As evident from the last few seasons, Lasith Malinga has been MI’s go-to bowler at the death, and the Sri Lankan has responded to the challenge reasonably well. Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha have formed a potent spin duo among themselves. Dhawal Kulkarni has been impressive, but went for 12 off the 4 balls he bowled in the last game, before leaving the field with a side strain.

Conditions:

The Feroz Shah Kotla pitch is traditionally slow and low. But seeing the way it has played in the last few games, it can favour the team batting second as it settles down quite well in the second innings. The ball may stop and come in the first innings and can pose some problems to the team batting first.

Head to head:

Win/loss ratio is a bit skewed towards MI, who have won 8 of the 13 games played between the 2 teams so far. CSK have won 5 of them.

MI’s strategy:

Considering the nature of the pitch and also the fact that the match will be played under lights, they should look to bowl first on winning the toss. However, chasing in a big game like this might pose some tough challenges.

Key players:

Rohit Sharma - The Mumbai Indians‘ captain has been in cracking form and is striking the ball well. His contribution in the middle order holds the key to Mumbai’s chances in this match.

Kieron Pollard - The big-built Caribbean right-hander has been an asset for the Mumbai side, especially with his hard-hitting capabilities and clever changes of pace when bowling. He plays the anchor role in the side, and saves plenty of runs while fielding as well.

Possible XI:

They experimented with some players in the last few games, but are likely to field their best side today, with some big players coming back.

Dwayne Smith/Glenn Maxwell, Sachin Tendulkar/A Tare, Dinesh Karthik(wk), Rohit Sharma(c), Kieron Pollard, Ambati Rayudu, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Johnson, Dhawal Kulkarni, Lasith Malinga and Pragyan Ojha.