MI vs CSK, IPL 2020 Preview: MS Dhoni returns but will it be sufficient in front of defending champions?

The biggest T20 tournament in the world is back as Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 is all set to commence from today with defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) taking on MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. 

Two of the most successful teams – MI and CSK - in IPL will lock horns against each other in a bid to start the IPL 2020 campaign in a winning style. While Mumbai Indians have had an advantage in the head-to-head encounters, with the Rohit Sharma-led outfit winning 17 as comparison to CSK’s 11 win. 

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All eyes will be on MS Dhoni as ‘Thala’ is set to mark his return to the cricket field after playing his last match in the ICC World Cup 2019 semi-final against New Zealand. Dhoni has led CSK to three IPL titles and remains one of the best captain of all-time in cricketing history. However, he hasn’t played any sort of professional cricket for over a year and that might play a major role in today’s match as it could take some time before he gets back to match-rhythm and his usual attacking flow. 

Same goes for Shane Watson, Murali Vijay, Piyush Chawla and other players of the CSK squad who haven't played that much of cricket in the past 12 months. And that could take some time for CSK to return to their usual mojo. 

Both teams are looking terrific on paper. However, CSK will be missing the services of Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh whereas Mumbai Indians will be without Lasith Malinga, which can put pressure on other players. 

The match will be played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, where the average first innings score in T20s is 137 with the highest being 225. Teams bowling first have had a slight advantage when it comes to winning matches.

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Mumbai Indians will look forward to the form of Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Pandya brothers along with Jasprit Bumrah as they form the core of the team. However, all eyes will be on Kieron Pollard given his sensational form in the recently concluded team.

Predicted Chennai Super Kings Playing XI –

S Watson, Faf Du Plessis, A Rayudu, K Jadhav, MS Dhoni (C & WK), R Jadeja, D Bravo, D Chahar, P Chawla, I Tahir, L Ngidi

Predicted Mumbai Indians Playing XI –

R Sharma (C), Q De Kock (WK), I Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Krunal Pandya, K Pollard, H Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile, R Chahar, T Boult, J Bumrah