Two of the most successful teams in IPL history will try to outsmart each other at the Wankhede on Saturday. And it is almost impossible to predict who will come out victorious after 40 overs of slam-bang cricket.
Such ferocious is the nature of the duels between five-time champions Mumbai Indians and four-time winners Chennai Super Kings that Moeen Ali likens it to the Manchester United-Liverpool rivalry.
“This is a game I really look forward to... This is one of the biggest games you can play as a cricketer outside of international cricket. In football’s point of view, it is like Manchester United playing Liverpool. These are huge games,” CSK’s Moeen said on Friday.
Mumbai will hope to forget the thrashing they got in the season opener from Royal Challengers Bangalore. They play well at home, but their batters need to find their feet. Captain Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and the talented Tilak Varma, Mumbai have able men to score runs.
“I believe all batters have to fire. Let us see what happens (on Saturday) since we are back at Wankhede,” Mumbai batting coach Kieron Pollard said on the eve of the game.
The CSK batters appear to be in better shape with young Ruturaj Gaikwad leading the way with sparkling form. But if batting is not a concern, bowling surely is for Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s side. The likes of Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande and Rajvardhan Hangargekar have been wayward often, giving away costly extras.
Mumbai will need Jofra Archer to have an impact with the ball.
Written with inputs from PTI
