Apart from the losses to Mumbai, Chennai also go into the big match having gone down to Kings XI Punjab by six wickets in their last league match. So they haven't really been at their ruthless best. Take away MS Dhoni's purple patch, as a result of which he has amassed 368 runs with three fifties, and the rest have struggled. A lot more will be expected of the experienced trio of Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis and Suresh Raina.
It is in the bowling that Chennai have really been far superior to other opponents. Imran Tahir has stood out with his 21 scalps, and is the second highest wicket-taker this season. Tahir has found excellent support from Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja, but the South African could hold the key to Chennai's success against Mumbai's powerful batting line-up. Meanwhile, CSK would miss the services of Kedar Jadhav, who has been ruled out with a freak soldier injury.
Just like Chennai's bowling, Mumbai's batting has been at an altogether different level. Skipper Rohit Sharma did not begin off well but since has managed to tally 386 runs. His opening partner Quinton de Kock has done even better with 492 runs and is the third highest run-getter this season. Hardik Pandya has also excelled this season and his hard-hitting success augurs well for the World Cup.
Mumbai have been highly impressive with the ball as well. Jasprit Bumrah has once again stood out with 17 wickets while Lasith Malinga has been impressive with 15 scalps. Even the Pandya brothers have contributed to the cause wirh 14 and 10 wickets respectively while leggie Rahul Chahar has claimed 10 wickets too.
Mumbai's current form and history against Chennai give them the edge but Dhoni's men will be trying to make the best of the home advantage.
Squads
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (capt), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Yuvraj Singh, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Anmolpreet Singh, Siddhesh Lad, Ankul Roy, Evin Lewis, Pankaj Jaiswal, Ben Cutting, Ishan Kishan, Aditya Tare, Rasikh Salam, Barinder Sran, Jayant Yadav, Beuran Hendricks and Lasith Malinga
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Murali Vijay, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Shorey, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Rituraj Gaikwad, Dwayne Bravo, Karn Sharma, Imran Tahir, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Sharma, K M Asif, Deepak Chahar, N Jagadeesan, Scott Kuggeleijn
--By A Cricket Correspondent
