MUMBAI: Twelve years after he captained India to a famous triumph the 2011 World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium, the legendary MS Dhoni will, in what could be his last outing in this iconic venue, will lead the Chennai Super Kings against arch-rivals Mumbai Indians in a blockbuster clash on Saturday night. That it is the first round of the ‘El Clasico’ of the IPL adds to the charm of the contest.
07:56
IPL 2023: It’s Rohit Sharma’s flair vs MS Dhoni’s acumen as MI take on CSK
It’s early days in IPL 2023, but, in his brief cameos of 14 not out off seven balls against Gujarat Titans and 12 off three balls against the Lucknow Super Giants, during which he smashed back-to-back sixes off the pacy Mark Wood, Dhoni has shown glimpses of his vintage spark. Arguably the greatest white-ball finisher of all time, the 41-year-old isn’t at his fittest, but he can still pack a punch when needed.
MI themselves won’t forget the damage he caused to them last year at the DY Patil Stadium, cracking an unbeaten 28 off 13 balls while launching a ferocious assault on Jaydev Unadkat to pull an incredible three-wicket win for CSK.
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While Dhoni is someone MI need to be wary of at the backend of the innings, the man who is likely to give them much headache at the start is Ruturaj Gaikwad. Having started the season with power-packed scores of 92 (against GT) and 57 (against LSG), Gaikwad would be itching to keep going in the same vein, just to prove his worth and case for a recall in India’s white ball squad in a World Cup year.
With their domestic bowlers looking pedestrian this season as well, MI, hurting badly due to the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, will bank on the speed and skill of Jofra Archer to stop the likes of Gaikwad and Dhoni from running away from this match. The English pacer went for 33 in 4 overs on his MI debut, against RCB, but can be counted upon to get back to his best on a Wankhede strip that offers decent carry.
MI would desperately hope that their star-studded batting line-up comprising of Indian captain Rohit Sharma, his opening partner Ishan Kishan, Australia’s star allrounder Cameron Green and the world’s No 1 T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav fires early into the tournament, and that too in a big-ticket game like this.
Quizzed about whether he was expecting the key Indian batters in his team to come good, MI’s batting coach Kieron Pollard said, “I believe all batters have to fire. I do not think we should not single out any individual. Cricket is played with eleven players, and again, the tournament has just started so everyone is just looking to start (on a) high. . . yes we did not get off to a great start as a batting unit but in the end we managed a decent total in Bangalore. Let us see what happens since we are back at Wankhede.”
He stressed that “MI have no concerns about Surya’s form”.
MI would be pleased with the way the young Tilak Varma, whose 46-ball unbeaten 84 was the main reason they scored 171-7 in their first game despite having collapsed to 48 for 4, has gotten off the blocks this season.
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While they would be looking to pounce on CSK’s domestic pacers Rajvardhan Hangargekar and Tushar Deshpande, both warned by Dhoni for bowling too many wides and no-balls, MI’s batters need to be wary of the swing of Deepak Chahar and the dangerous off-spin of English allrounder Moeen Ali.
It was Ali’s spell of 4-26 which helped CSK eke out a narrow 12-run win over LSG in their last game, after the latter looked on top at one stage.
Refreshed after a week’s break following the eight-wicket pasting at the hands of RCB, MI, who played four debutants in the opener, would be buoyed by the prospect of playing their first home game at the Wankhede this season.
That they have a 7-3 record at this venue against CSK should give the hosts plenty of confidence going into the clash. While CSK look slight favourites, in a game of this magnitude, recent form can assure little of what can happen.
