Two teams who’ve already registered a 200+ score on the board in the initial stage of the tournament are set to battle it out against each other in hopefully a thrilling encounter tonight!

KL Rahul made a record 132* being the highest individual Indian scorer in IPL as well as it being the highest individual score by a captain in IPL. But, can he start afresh tonight and get going yet again? Or would the two leggies of RR be able to keep him quiet?

With Jos Buttler’s availability, David Miller, who unfortunately got runout without even facing a delivery, would have to make way for him. Sanju Samson and Steve Smith showed everyone that RR’s batting should not be taken lightly and that they can also put up a huge total against tougher oppositions. But can they get going in every game and possess that threat against the most dangerous looking bowling unit?

Undoubtedly the Kings XI’s bowlers have been the most destructive in this year’s IPL till now, with Shami bowling with fiery pace and perfect accuracy, Cottrell making complete use of the early swing in the powerplay overs, and the spin twins Ashwin and Bishnoi using their variations to the advantage. On the other hand, this is the same wicket where RR scored a 215 against the Super Kings, and they surely are more familiar with the conditions hereon.

In the 2014 edition, the Kings XI won both their games in Sharjah with Maxwell scoring fifties in both games. Though he is currently out of touch with the bat as seen in the previous two games, he could well and truly come back into action on this ground and have a blistering knock!

The question still is WHERE IS THE UNIVERSE BOSS? On these smaller grounds of Sharjah and against a team that do not possess an off-spin threat, Chris Gayle is quite likely to make way into the side in place of Pooran who hasn’t been able to do much in the first two games.

Probable XIs and why –

KXIP – KL Rahul(C)(Wk), Mayank Aggarwal, Chris Gayle/Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Karun Nair, Sarfaraz Khan, Jimmy Neesham, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Sheldon Cottrell

After a comprehensive one sided victory against the Challengers, they’d like to stick to the same combination going into the battle tomorrow. But, the only change that is possible is Chris Gayle coming in for Nicholas Pooran.

RR – Jos Buttler(Wk), Yashaswai Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Steve Smith(C), Robin Uthappa, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Tom Curran, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat

It should be a straight swap between Buttler and Miller which means that Smith, who proved to be a great opener the other night, would have to go back to his original No.4 spot, having Jaiswal and Buttler as their opening pair.

Pitch Report –

The smallest ground amongst the three venues, expect a high scoring contest yet again with both teams possessing a great batting lineup. Bowlers could take wickets only if the batsmen mistime the shots or as wickets slow down. Looking at how the first game on this venue went, it should be a batsman’s delight.

Safe C/VC choices –

Buttler, Rahul, Samson, Smith, Shami

Risky C/VC choices –

Maxwell, Mayank, Jofra

Two teams that are coming off from a defeat in their previous encounters, would face each other to open their account on the points table tonight.

Mumbai Indians welcomed the most expensive player from the auction in their own style by scoring almost 50 runs in his 3 over spell. But Pat Cummins came back into action and scored a brilliant cameo towards the end of the innings, proving his all round abilities.

The inexperienced Sunrisers middle order failed in the previous outing, but they’d look to rectify that with Mohammad Nabi coming in for the ruled out Mitch Marsh. Jason Holder is in the quarantine period and won’t be available for this fixture tonight. Warner failed to an unlucky runout last time but he’d look to get going along with his most favourite IPL opening partner Bairstow. Pandey at No.3 makes the top order a really destructive one, and enough to win games easily. Their bowling attack, which was the highest rated once, collectively failed as a unit in the last game and would look to tackle the Knight Riders on these slow wickets of Abu Dhabi.

The Knight Riders failed in batting with the highest score being of Cummins, followed by Karthik, who were the only two to score in 30s. With the most destructive middle order, the Knight Riders would like to take that to their advantage against the Sunrisers. The no-nonsense approach of Narine is a much needed one in the powerplay overs, provided he fires. Not just that, his 4 overs have always been very crucial in terms of the economy as well as the wickets. Their only weakness is their inexperienced indian seam bowling and their attack against the Sunrisers top order could make a lot of difference.

Head to Head –

They’ve faced each other 17 times since 2013, with KKR winning 10 of them. Bairstow avgs a 119 against this side and Warner has a highest score of 126 against them. Bhuvi has also been the highest Wicket taker against them. Manish Pandey who used to play for KKR now plays for the SRH.

Probable XIs and why –

KKR – Sunil Narine, Shubhman Gill, Dinesh Karthik(C)(Wk), Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Nikhil Naik/Rinku Singh, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Sandeep Warrier/Prasidh Krishna

Nikhil Naik failed to make a mark when he got a good opportunity to prove himself, so that could be one of the changes in their team with Rinku Singh or Rahul Tripathi coming into the side. Warrier also was expensive in the last game and Prasidh could come in as well in his place.

SRH – David Warner(C), Johnny Bairstow(Wk), Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Priyam Garg, Abhishek Sharma, Mohammad Nabi/Fabian Allen, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan

A forced change with Mitch Marsh being ruled out of the IPL with an ankle injury. One of Nabi or Allen should take his place with Holder currently not available.

Pitch Report –

We are back to Abu Dhabi. Both the pitches have been used on that venue and they are slow wickets with long boundaries. Batsmen would find it difficult to keep going for boundaries so should be satisfied with constant strike rotation. The spinners could cause trouble especially with two quality spinners both sides in Rashid and Narine.

Safe C/VC choices –

Warner, Bairstow, Narine, Russell

Both teams have a win each to their name before the battle tonight.
The Super Kings play their third game tonight, whereas the Capitals are going to play their second.

Two quality and match winning all rounders in both sides with Sam Curran on one side and Marcus Stoinis on the other!

A constantly changing batting order for CSK is definitely something which is getting unpredictable. Rayudu’s injury in the previous game surely was a cause of concern for the Super Kings. Faf on the other hand is the current leading run scorer with two consecutive fifties to his name and looks in great touch. Sam Curran with his quick cameos also helping out in getting the required run rate down to an extent. Dwayne Bravo’s injury has lead to reliability on Lungi Ngidi in death overs, who proved to be expensive in the previous encounter, would also be something which has to be rectified.

The only team with a complete Indian top order with Shaw, Shikhar, Iyer and Pant, would look to have a better start in the powerplay overs than that in the previous game. Stoinis’ flourish at the end overs would be a sigh of relief for Pant and Hettie in terms of letting them play their natural game without pressure. Ravi Ashwin would most likely be missing the battle against his former team. Anrich Nortje proved to be expensive last time round and DC, last year, was known to make changes in every single game. So, we could again expect a couple of changes here on.

Head to head –

They’ve played each other a total of 18 times out of which CSK has won 12, and DC with 6.

Probable XIs and why –

CSK – Murali Vijay/Ruturaj Gaikwad/Ambati Rayudu (Any 2), Shane Watson, Faf Du Plessis, Sam Curran, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni(C)(Wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Lungi Ngidi, Piyush Chawla

If Ambati Rayudu is fit for the game, then it would be a tossup between the three for the two spots, with Rayudu a certainty. MSD, as said earlier, likes to back their players and one-off poor performances don’t concern him. Hence, the rest of the side should stay the same.

DC – Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant(Wk), Shreyas Iyer(C), Shimron Hetmeyer, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Daniel Sams/Anrich Nortje, Amit Mishra, Kagiso Rabada, Mohit Sharma

A forced change in Ravi Ashwin who shouldn’t be risked in the initial stage of the tournament itself, which would mean that the experienced leggie Amit Mishra could come into the side. The other change for me would be Daniel Sams in place of Anrich Nortje. A left arm seam option along with a lower order finishing option should be preferred.

Pitch Report –

DC has played on this wicket and CSK would be playing on this wicket for the first time this tournament. The same wicket that was used in yesterday’s battle between KXIP and RCB. A good pitch for batsmen to do well. A par score of 165+ could be expected on the board.

Safe C/VC choices –

Iyer, Pant, Faf, Curran, Rayudu(if plays)

The Kings XI take on the Royal Challengers in the battle tonight!

A battle between two explosive sides with two top class top order batting from both ends. With Finch, Padikkal, Kohli and ABD for the Challengers, it’s against Rahul, Mayank, Gayle/Pooran and Maxwell for the Kings!

RCB are coming off with a comfortable win after Chahal turned the game around in favour of them. On the other hand, KXIP are coming off with a loss in a game that went till the Super Over, even though Mayank played a great knock!

The pace and bounce of Shami and the ability of turn on any wicket by Chahal. The destruction of Maxwell and ABD for both sides at No.4. The two top players of the Indian team, Rahul and Virat. Two overseas seamers Cottrell and Steyn. Two underdogs in Mayank and Padikkal. Two explosive openers in Gayle(If played) and Finch. A lot of battles worth watching in tonight’s battle! It should be a cracker of a match!

Watching Chris Gayle in action against his former team would be really exciting to watch!

Probable XIs and why –

RCB – Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (C), AB De Villiers, Joshua Phillippe/Chris Morris, Shivam Dube, Umesh Yadav/Parthiv Patel, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, Dale Steyn

Even though Kohli isn’t someone who likes to change a winning combination, Umesh was too expensive against the Sunrisers and Phillippe, who’s an explosive opening batsman for the Sydney Sixers, is just taking a spot down at No.6. If ABD could keep wickets, it wouldn’t have been a question. But, the ideal change that should take place for a better balance would be to take in Morris and Parthiv in place of Umesh and Phillippe. Though these changes are unlikely to happen tonight, it should take place as the tournament goes ahead and they face other teams.

KXIP – KL Rahul(C)(Wk), Chris Gayle/Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Glenn Maxwell, Sarfaraz Khan, Krishnappa Gowtham, Chris Jordan, Mohammad Shami, Sheldon Cottrell, Ravi Bishnoi

Nicholas Pooran was shown a lot of confidence by the team management which was evident after seeing him opening in the super over alongside the skipper. But, he failed with the bat in the innings as well as the super over. A likely change to take place is the Universe Boss coming in for him, as Rahul is keeping the wickets. Though no changes would take place after the way they performed as a unit in the previous encounter, this should be the ideal substitution.

Pitch Report –

Both RCB and KXIP have played a game each on this wicket and both know how it works. In both the games, a total of 31 wickets had fallen, which means that even though the batsmen would end up scoring a 160+ score, the bowlers are likely to pick up wickets on this pitch.

Safe C/VC choices for fantasy –

Kohli, ABD, Rahul, Maxwell, Chahal, Shami

The Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo Army’s turn has finally come in this tournament to play their first battle against the Defending Champions, the Mumbai Indians!

KKR has always been in the limelight due to injuries of several players, including their stars Narine and Russell, who were also not fully fit from CPL, but would be looking forward to a successful campaign with the Knight Riders. With the acquisition of Eoin Morgan and Pat Cummins, their middle order looks really strong to relieve any sort of pressure from Dre Russ, along with the added experience in them. All eyes would be on the youngster Shubhman Gill who’d love to impress the selectors with good performances this season. Players like Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti who were bought for their sheer pace were both out injured last season and would be looking forward to live to KKR’s expectations this time around. Kuldeep Yadav’s form was wayward last season and he needs to come back into rhythm to build pressure on the oppositions.

MI continue with their losing streak in UAE after losing against the Super Kings on the first day of IPL 2020. Their second battle is against a team which last won in 2014, the year in which half the season was played in UAE. A surprising element when Haardik Pandya wasn’t given the ball at all in the previous encounter but he won’t be out of action for a long time, and against a destructive batting lineup like KKR, he could be used. Pollard’s captaincy experience would also be of help tonight for Rohit, to tackle the two mighty West Indians, Narine and Russell. Bumrah didn’t look at his best in the last game and KKR loves to finish with a flourish in the death overs. This time around, Bumrah would have to show his class if they need to defend runs in the final five.

Probable XIs and why –

KKR – Sunil Narine, Shubhman Gill, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik(C)(Wk), Rinku Singh, Pat Cummins, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Mavi/Kamlesh Nagarkoti/Sandeep Warrier

As said in an interview by David Hussey, Dre Russ is set to play at No.3, though ofc it would again depend on the situation as to when the opening wicket would fall. A choice between three domestic seamers would be there to fill the XIth spot in the lineup. Dre Russ, towards the end of CPL was injured and couldn’t bowl too well, and after watching Mitch Marsh and Ravi Ashwin in the last two games, risking him with the ball could be a thought and hence should go with 5 bowlers with Krishna, Narine, Cummins, Kuldeep and one domestic seamer. Chris Green would come in handy as the tournament progresses and once the pitches tend to slow down.

MI – Quinton De Kock (Wk), Rohit Sharma(C), Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Haardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, James Pattinson, Jasprit Bumrah

MI aren’t likely to make any changes to their team from the previous game. Tiwary looked good in the middle order which means Kishan would’ve to wait for his chance. Their hard-hitting finishers all looked in great touch but some excellent piece of fielding by CSK kept them quiet. They would want to turn it around this time. KKR is an excellent team of spin, and probably Haardik could come in handy with the ball tonight.

Pitch Report –

Back in action to Abu Dhabi where MI played their first game. The pitch surely supported the bowlers as 14 wickets fell on that day. But, the batsmen also played a good part out there. So, should be a neutral wicket for the time being. MI has the advantage of having played on this wicket atleast once this season, and KKR are still to know how the pitch would react.

Fantasy Tips for safe players –

C/VC choices – Russell, Narine, Rohit, De Kock

Rajasthan Royals come out to the middle for the first time this tournament to play it out against the team which has already won their first game against the defending champions!

RR would be missing their most crucial all rounder, Ben Stokes, who is set to miss out on the first half of the tournament, though is practicing in Christchurch with the aim to play in the IPL in the latter half of the season. All their batting lies in the experience of Buttler, Smith, Samson and Uthappa. Yashaswi Jaiswal is a promising youngster and will be looking for a good debut season in IPL. Buttler, their most explosive opener also won’t be available for the first game due to quarantine restrictions as he flew to UAE later. Even after investing their money in 11 bowlers for their team, their bowling attack looks weak with Shreyas Gopal the only one who impressed in the last season. Riyan Parag showed his abilities of his aggression last year and he would be looking to do it even better this time with the absence of Stokes. Jofra Archer would be all set to go with his sheer pace and with the excellent form he was in against the Aussies right before the IPL.

CSK has already started the tournament with a bang and MSD has made a roar with his comeback! Not only did Rayudu look in great touch, but Faf also gave him the support he wanted from one end, and then Sam Curran with his power hitting cameo towards the end still shows that even without MSD’s contribution with the bat, they’re a force to reckon. Their bowling attack looks really impressive from the last encounter and would look to get another win to their name against the Royals tonight.

Fun Fact – The Curran brothers playing against each other would be a sight to watch! The first game of CSK witnessed the Chahar brothers facing each other and this time it would be the Curran brothers.

Probable XIs and why –

CSK – Shane Watson, Murali Vijay, Faf Du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(C)(Wk), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Piyush Chawla, Deepak Chahar, Lungi Ngidi

No changes expected in their lineup after a win against the Mumbai Indians. MSD always likes to back their players even after poor performances one time round so this would be the lineup they’d play against the Royals as well.

RR – Yashaswi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(Wk), Steve Smith, Robin Uthappa, David Miller, Riyan Parag, Tom Curran, Rahul Tewatia/Ankit Rajpoot, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat

The absence of Stokes and Buttler would be a huge loss to RR tonight. An option between Tewatia and Rajpoot is just because the latter has been in the IPL circuit for a longer time and has that experience with him, but Tewatia would give them that extra spin option alongside 3 seamers already in the mix, as well as the lower order finishing abilities in him. With Stokes not there, Tom Curran should be the ideal choice to go with. Not only can he bowl accurately and break partnerships at crucial intervals, he can give finishing death over runs with the bat as well.

Pitch Report –

A new venue, a new wicket. Match would be played in Sharjah tonight and a fresh wicket would await us with the batsmen being able to flourish. The spinners however would cause some trouble.

One team which is known for their batting prowess and another which is known for its bowling, the two of them take on each other in tonight’s battle to start their season with a win.

Royal Challengers Bangalore in the last three seasons has ended as last, sixth and last again. They would want to turn their fortunes this time around and look for their maiden title with the new additions of the mighty 10Cr Chris Morris, their new top order buy Aaron Finch, and their young domestic star Devdutt Padikkal. Along with Moeen, Dube and Sundar in the middle order, this time the team doesn’t look heavily dependent on their two stars Virat and ABD, and they can look to play freely without any pressures whatsoever. Their death over bowling woes, however, are still not completely resolved, and just relying on Morris for that may occupy an overseas spot with the Indian bowling unit exactly the same as their previous seasons.

Sunrisers Hyderabad on the other hand have an amazing bowling unit, but lack quality middle order batsmen with all the responsibilities on the lone experienced player Vijay Shankar, who also hasn’t looked very promising. With Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan as their finishers, experienced overseas players like Kane Williamson and Mitchell Marsh might have to wait for their chances. Bhuvneshwar Kumar also hasn’t been a wicket taking bowler since the previous couple of seasons, and the others, Siddharth Kaul and Khaleel Ahmed have also not been too economical. Their amazing bowling unit is now getting too predictable and it’s on the two Afghan spinners to put on the pressure on their oppositions.

The last year when they met for the first time, Bairstow and Warner both ended up scoring centuries and had put up a 200-run opening stand. This time around, RCB would have to look to put on early pressure with Moeen and Sundar against Bairstow and Warner who don’t play spin quite well early on in the innings, and then take advantage of their inexperienced middle order. On the other hand, Bhuvi and Sandy would enjoy the UAE wickets and would look to perform the way they did in 2014 and use their early swing to get the wickets.

The time when India toured Australia in Jan 2019, Bhuvi took Aaron Finch’s wicket in all 3 matches for mere scores of 6,6,14. Bhuvi would want to take Finch within the powerplay overs this time around too. On the other hand, Finch had been in an amazing form for the Aussies in their series against England, and he would want to continue with that momentum. This would be a battle worth watching!

A stat to note – David Warner has played 9 innings against RCB out of which he has scored 50+ scores in 8 of them, and plays at an avg of 80+.

Probable XIs and why –

RCB – Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal/Parthiv Patel, Virat Kohli(C), AB De Villiers, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Chris Morris, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini

The only choice is between Padikkal and Parthiv for that opening spot. Parthiv has been one of RCB’s core team members for a few years now. On the other hand, Padikkal was the leading run scorer of Syed Mushtaq Ali 2019-20 and had been in great form before covid struck. It all depends on whether AB De Villiers is ready to take on the keeping duties or not. Overseas players like Steyn, Udana and Zampa might have to wait for their turn. They have a good balanced side on paper, and now it would all come down to their on field performances.

SRH – David Warner(C), Johnny Bairstow(Wk), Manish Pandey, Virat Singh, Vijay Shankar, Abdul Samad, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed

Two talented youngsters, Virat Singh and Abdul Samad, might be in their starting XI due to the lack of experienced middle order Indian batsmen in their squad. In 2014, when SRH played here, Sandeep and Bhuvi were great with the ball due to the early swing, and Siddharth Kaul on the other proved to be very expensive in last year’s season. So, Sandy should be preferred over Kaul for the first game is what I feel. Having Warner and Bairstow out there means a player like Williamson would have to sit out on the bench, keeping their middle order in hands of Manish, Vijay, Nabi and two youngsters.

Pitch Report –

The game would be played at the same venue where DC vs KXIP took place. A wicket to support the batsmen up front, but bowlers will collect wickets as well, especially the seamers.

Fantasy Tips for safe players –

C/VC choices – Kohli, ABD, Warner, Bairstow

Two teams who’ve never won an IPL will take on each other on 20th Sept at 7:30PM. It’s Delhi Capitals vs Kings XI Punjab. DC has never reached an IPL final, but are coming off a great season from 2019 where they ended up 3rd. KXIP, on the other hand ended up as Runners Up in 2014, and ended up 6th in the 2019 season.

KXIP’s latest addition in Glenn Maxwell would be a great asset for them and they would expect his 2014 form to be back. He’s also coming off with a 77 and a 108 in the 3 match ODI series against England. He, alongside Rahul, Gayle, Pooran could make a very destructive batting unit for the oppositions. Mujeeb Ur Rahman was the second highest wicket taker in CPL 2020 and was one of the best players in that tournament, and is also in red-hot form to add to KXIP’s advantages. Their biggest disadvantage would be in choosing their 4 overseas players with the likes of Jordan, Cottrell and Neesham also in the side. They also lack quality and experienced Indian players in their squad, other than Shami and Rahul. Their top 6 don’t bowl at all unless one asks Gayle to roll his arm a bit, which means that they need to play with 5 regular bowlers and their tail would be long.

DC’s addition in Ravichandran Ashwin and Daniel Sams have ensured that they do have a quality off spinner and a wicket taking left arm seam option in their side. The biggest advantage they have is their Left-Right combination in their batting order throughout. Due to the nature of Feroz Shah Kotla wickets, they could also adapt to the pitch conditions easily. The biggest disadvantage they have is that they don’t have a proper off spin backup to Ashwin which means that he would have to be a surety in the playing XI and would occupy a spot and lead to Mishra/Lamichanne sitting out for majority of the season. Also, they have invested highly in Right-Arm seamers with 8 out of 22 players being of exactly the same kind.

Both captains who’ve just lead their side in one season and are still yet to gain experience in their leadership roles would be taking on each other in this thrilling encounter tonight!

Probable XIs and why –

DC – Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant(Wk), Shreyas Iyer(C), Shimron Hetmeyer, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Daniel Sams, Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada

Having Daniel Sams over Keemo Paul would give a left-arm seam option to bowl alongside Ishant and Rabada. Marcus Stoinis would give a 6th bowling option as well as the depth in the batting order to handle the finishing roles, even though he has been more successful as an opener in the BBL. Axar and Ashwin’s combo would tackle KXIP’s left-right combo since both turn the ball away in different directions. It would be a toss up between Amit Mishra/Sandeep Lamichanne/Daniel Sams for their 11th spot, depending on the team management whether to go with a leg spinner or a left arm seamer.

KXIP – KL Rahul(C)(Wk), Chris Gayle, Mayank Aggarwal, Glenn Maxwell, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan/Karun Nair, Chris Jordan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Ravi Bishnoi/Krishnappa Gowtham, Ishan Porel, Mohammad Shami

Having players like Nicholas Pooran and Sheldon Cottrell at the bench would be something that KXIP would address to. Karun Nair is a steady player whereas Sarfaraz is a finisher, so probably the latter might be preferred to play at that No.6 spot. Only one out of Gayle/Pooran could play since they need to have 5 regular bowling options in their side. Krishnappa Gowtham could be played ahead of Bishnoi, but having two off spinners and no leggies would be a concern for them. Even though both Mujeeb and Gowtham have great variations, Bishnoi could be in the scheme of things to bring that leg spin option.

Pitch Report –

The match would be played at a new venue, Dubai. So a fresh wicket awaits the players and it could be a high scoring game with 160+ scores.

Fantasy Tips for safe players –

C/VC choices – Iyer, Pant, Rahul, Maxwell

After a long wait, here we are finally!
We start from where we left in 2019, with the rivals and the two most successful teams, facing each other to kick-start the Dream11 IPL 2020!

It’s the defending champions taking on the dad’s army. It’s Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings, in this first encounter out there in UAE!

MI has not won their first match of the season since 2012, and they would want to turn their initial stage struggles around this time. They’re going to face CSK in the opening encounter of a season for the fourth time in the history of IPL, and they’ve won twice out of the three completed matches, but only in 2009 and 2012, with the third one going to CSK in 2018.

CSK has qualified every year for the playoffs and would look forward to start well in 2020 too. Having played at Chepauk grounds, they are well aware of slow wickets and could adapt to conditions easier as compared to Mumbai who play at Wankhede which is known for its fast paced wickets.

CSK have the biggest disadvantage with no left handed batsman in their top 7 after Raina departed, nor do they possess a wicket-taking off spinner, to tackle the lefties of MI, in their side after Harbhajan took his name off the squad for this season. Having a right-heavy top 7, Krunal and Rahul Chahar might have it easier to tackle the batsmen as they would turn the ball away from them. The only advantages they have are the International experiences of every player, their ability to adapt to the pitch conditions faster, and that the players are all good with playing spin.

MI, on the other hand, have a good balance of Left-Right combination in their top 7 and the uncertainty of who bats at what position in which game would be crucial for them in winning matches, because the opposition’s tactics could be altered on the spot with random changes in their batting order after the first 3/4. Their biggest disadvantage would be to adapt to the slow sluggish wickets of UAE especially against some great quality spin of Jadeja and Tahir.
Also, remember, in the 2014 edition when the initial stage was held in UAE, MI did not register a single win in the 5 games they played there, and this could well be a hindrance to them this time round.

Probable XIs and why –

MI – Quinton De Kock(Wk), Chris Lynn, Rohit Sharma(C), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, Haardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah

10 members out of 11 (excluding Chris Lynn) should be a certainty to feature in the playing XI in tomorrow’s battle. With QDK, Polly and Boult, they still have one foreign spot open, but with 6 proper bowling options, taking another foreign seamer in the form of Coulter-Nile, McLenaghan or Pattinson, might be a waste of spot, and hence it’s a tossup between Rutherford and Lynn, amongst whom I would suppose that Lynn would be preffered even though he didn’t have a good outing with the bat in the recently concluded CPL 2020. However, the 11th spot is still open for anyone, and the team could go with just 3 overseas players as well, and go with anyone, especially someone like Digvijay Deshmukh, Anukul Roy or Prince Balwant Rai Singh, to give any of them the opportunity from the very beginning. Also, Nathan Coulter Nile was a buy worth 8 Cr., hence he could fancy his chances of being in the XI as well, so that spot is well open.

CSK – Shane Watson, Faf Du Plessis/Murali Vijay, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(C)(Wk), Kedar Jadhav, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Piyush Chawla/Lungi Ngidi/Imran Tahir (Any 2), Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur

Opting for Faf Du Plessis at the top of the order after the departure of Raina should be the preference according to me, which would mean one of Tahir/Ngidi would play alongside Piyush. But, if Murali Vijay is opted as their opening batsman to pair Watson, then both Ngidi and Tahir could be played with Piyush rested, but it would still be an option of 2 players between these 3. It won’t be a surprise if Sam Curran is roped in to the XI by leaving out Ngidi, in terms of not only getting a lower order finisher, but also a Left-Arm seam option alongside Chahar, Thakur and Bravo, to tackle the Right-Left combination threat that MI would possess. Also, Sam Curran could even open the innings and give them the Left handed batsman at the top order to tackle their weakness, though that is a very rare possibility to happen.

Pitch Report –

The pitch has been good for batsmen, and since it’s the first game of the tournament, a fresh wicket always plays in favour of the batsmen, but the spinners always flourish on this ground and do end up troubling the batsmen. Apart from the spinners, Medium pacers like DJ Bravo and Kieron Pollard could also do some damage.
The averge run rate in T20Is on this ground is 7, thereby making a 150+ score a par total on this ground.

Fantasy Tips for Safe players –

C/VC choices – De Kock, MSD, Rohit, Haardik, Watson