Last Updated on 5 years by Charbel Coorey

IPL 2020 Match 1: MI vs CSK Preview Dream11 Possible Playing 11 Pitch Report | MI vs CSK Dream11 Prediction Today September 19 2020 | Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings Key Players | Abu Dhabi Pitch Report

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After months of speculation amid the coronavirus and T20 World Cup, Sourav Ganguly’s aim to get IPL 2020 up and running is fulfilled. While the tournament won’t have the spine-tingling atmospheres of a usual IPL, the 2020 edition shapes up to be one of the most open tournaments yet. All eight teams are capable of producing wonders on their day, which makes a good start crucial to a franchise’s hopes.

This is an area where the great Mumbai Indians have historically struggled. The defending champions, who have a record four IPL Titles to their name, have won just four of their 12 opening matches. It is a record that makes for quite the opener, as Chennai Super Kings can’t seem to get the better of their rivals in recent times, with four straight defeats to Rohit Sharma’s men in 2019.

So, what does the tournament opener have in store? Can MI overcome their habit of starting with a loss, as well as their even-year jitters? What about CSK, the IPL’s most consistent side, who have faced nothing but hurdles in the build up to the tournament? Some believe that this is the year they finally miss the playoffs, while others believe they are always a factor as long as the great MS Dhoni is at the helm.

Both sides possess experience and quality that other franchises crave – a key reason why MI and CSK are far-and-away the most successful sides in IPL. While the tournament opener is too early to make conclusions about both side’s chances in IPL 2020, it serves as an opportunity to boost confidence and quickly adapt to the environment that is the IPL bubble.

Also read: Will MI and CSK make the playoffs in IPL 2020? CricBlog’s tournament predictions!

Key Players to Watch/Key Stats

• Kevin Pietersen says MS Dhoni is a key player to watch in IPL 2020 (details here). With Suresh Raina unavailable, Dhoni has an even more crucial role to play. He has been superb since Chennai’s return to IPL since 2018: 871 runs, avg. 79.18, SR: 142.55.
• Also, Dhoni has the most runs for Chennai against Mumbai (627, avg. 36.88) after Suresh Raina’s 730.
• Who could forget Shane Watson’s superb 80 in the IPL 2019 Final with a bloodied knee? The experienced opener will also be key to CSK’s chances.
• Rohit Sharma has the most runs for Mumbai against Chennai with 646. The MI skipper will be keen for a big season with the bat, after a bit of a lean couple of years.
• Kieron Pollard vs Chennai: 449 runs, avg. 34.54, SR: 167.54. Also, Pollard recently struck at a SR of over 200 in the recent, low-scoring CPL.
• Pollard and Hardik Pandya will be key. Hardik was superb last season for Mumbai, scoring 402 runs at SR 191.42.
• Suryakumar Yadav was man of the match in IPL 2019 Qualifier 1 vs CSK (71*). Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah were the top players in the other three meetings between the teams in IPL 2019.
• Imran Tahir took the most wickets in IPL 2019 (26), and was effective in the recent CPL, with 15 wickets in 11 games.
• Deepak Chahar, CSK’s go-to man in the powerplay, will look to make inroads into MI’s strong top order. He took 3/26 in last season’s Final.
• Watch out for Rahul Chahar. He will be key to MI’s spin attack in IPL 2020, and has a very commendable record vs CSK so far: 3 wickets, avg. 20.00, econ. 4.29.
• The Trent Boult-Jasprit Bumrah combination is a key strength for MI, and it will be interesting to see their impact in match one. Bumrah was man of the match in the IPL 2019 Final (2/14).
• Piyush Chawla has 24 wickets in 20 matches vs Mumbai Indians.

Stats and Facts

• CSK have a positive win record against all IPL teams except MI. MI lead 18-12 in the head-to-head.
• MI have won eight of the past nine matches against CSK.
• Interestingly, Quinton de Kock doesn’t fare too well vs CSK (8 matches, 140 runs, avg. 17.50). However, his quality is there for all to see, and was the third-highest run-scorer in IPL 2019 (529, avg. 35.26, SR 132.91).
• Imran Tahir has a solid record against Kieron Pollard in T20s. He has got his wicket four times in 16 matches, with a dot-ball percentage of 50.
• MS Dhoni has scored just 39 runs in 33 balls in the death overs (16-20) vs Jasprit Bumrah in IPL cricket, with three dismissals.
• CSK have taken the most powerplay wickets in IPL since 2018 (56), with Chahar taking 25 of them.

Possible Playing 11

Mumbai Indians look quite settled. However, their spin depth is an area of possible weakness in IPL 2020, so Rahul Chahar and Krunal Pandya will be key first up. Lasith Malinga is out of the tournament (details here), but MI still have strong options to choose from in their pace brigade, most notably Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah.

Mumbai Indians: 1. Rohit Sharma (c), 2. Quinton de Kock (wk), 3. Suryakumar Yadav, 4. Ishan Kishan, 5. Kieron Pollard, 6. Hardik Pandya, 7. Krunal Pandya, 8. Rahul Chahar, 9. Mitchell McClenaghan/Nathan Coulter-Nile, 10. Trent Boult, 11. Jasprit Bumrah

Chennai Super Kings have had very rocky preparations for IPL 2020. Suresh Raina pulled out for personal reasons, followed by Harbhajan Singh. Also, there was an outbreak of COVID-19 within their squad, which included Deepak Chahar, who has now recovered. Their playing XI could see two overseas openers followed by an Indian core in the middle. Another option would be to leave du Plessis out and play Lungi Ngidi as another seam option (Josh Hazlewood is also reportedly available). The likes of Ambati Rayudu and Kedar Jadhav, who endured poor campaigns in 2019, will be key in 2020 with the absence of Raina. Expect to see big signing Piyush Chawla line up.

Chennai Super Kings: 1. Shane Watson, 2. Faf du Plessis, 3. Murali Vijay, 4. Ambati Rayudu, 5. Kedar Jadhav, 6. MS Dhoni (c & wk), 7. Dwayne Bravo, 8. Ravindra Jadeja, 9. Deepak Chahar, 10. Piyush Chawla, 11. Imran Tahir

Abu Dhabi Pitch and Weather Report

UAE surfaces are always on the slower side. This will be the case again, with batting earlier in the tournament expected to be easier before the squares become tired due to plenty of action. The average run rate in T20 Internationals at Abu Dhabi is 7.00, so if the team batting first can muster a score of 150+, they will be well in the game.

The match will start at 6:00pm local time on what will be a hot day. No rain is expected whatsoever.

For more stats and numbers, visit Predict22. Predict22 uses A.I. technology for fantasy predictions and match predictions.

Dream11 Prediction

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Match Prediction

MI struggle in opening matches. CSK struggle against MI. This match has a fantastic backstory, which makes it difficult to predict. However, given how settled they look, MI start this match as favourites against a CSK side that is banking on their middle order to play at their best. MI to win in a close one.

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Also read:Will MI and CSK make the playoffs in IPL 2020? CricBlog’s tournament predictions!