IPL 2021: Chennai Super Kings to renew fierce rivalry with Mumbai Indians in Dubai as UAE leg kicks off
IPL 2021 will resume on September 19 in Dubai with a blockbuster clash between MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings and Rohit Sharma's Mumbai Indians. Can CSK break MI's dominance to make it all square this season?
In Short
- IPL 2021 to resume with a high octane clash between CSK and MI on September 19
- Mumbai Indians will look to assert dominance over Chennai Super Kings in Dubai
- 31 remaining matches of IPL 2021 will be played in the United Arab Emirates
Defending champions Mumbai Indians will be pitted against MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings as the ‘Indian El Clasico’ will mark the resumption of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Dubai on Sunday.
Chennai Super Kings are one of the most consistent teams in the league history with three titles to their name since 2008. However, CSK will miss the services of two key overseas stars: Faf du Plessis and Sam Curran.
Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, are the defending champions and the most successful side in IPL's history. MI have a power-packed team full of T20 superstars like Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah.
vs #CSK #MI
Which colour will prevail in #CSKvMI when #VIVOIPL 2021 resumes?#AsliPictureAbhiBaakiHai #ChennaiSuperKings #MumbaiIndians pic.twitter.com/Xe85t5S1lF — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) September 17, 2021
It is the greatest rivalry in the history of the IPL, and it is going to be no less when the two teams meet each other on Sunday. Rohit Sharma's team is currently ranked fourth in the IPL 2021 points table and will be looking to start the UAE leg with a win over the second-ranked Chennai.
IPL 2021 was initially postponed indefinitely after just 29 matches in May due to the second wave of Covid-19 in India.
CSK vs MI: Head-to-head record in 32 matches
Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings is totted as the biggest rivalry in the history of the Indian Premier League as the two teams have played out some of IPL’s biggest matches over the last 14 editions.
Despite CSK being a consistent team under MS Dhoni, Mumbai own the honours board in the overall head-to-head battle. Notably, the teams have faced one another in 32 IPL matches with MI winning 19 times while CSK’s win count stands at 13.
CSK vs MI: Last IPL meeting
Despite sharing a fierce rivalry, MI have outclassed CSK in the last six encounters winning five of them. In their last meeting, Kieron Pollard came up with a special unbeaten knock of 87 to help Mumbai Indians register their highest-ever chase in the IPL and end Chennai Super Kings' five-match unbeaten run in the ongoing tournament. Pollard's starring performance helped Mumbai Indians chase down a 219-run target in a high-scoring last-ball thriller in Delhi.
With both the teams in pretty healthy form, another thrilling contest is on the cards for the first day of the UAE leg of IPL 2021.
CSK vs MI: Full squad for IPL 2021
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Squad: MS Dhoni (C), Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ambati Rayudu, Imran Tahir, Josh Hazlewood, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Lungi Ngidi, Dwayne Bravo, Karn Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, K Gowtam, Sam Curran, Robin Uthappa, Mitchell Santner, Jagadeesan N, KM Asif, R Sai Kishore, C Hari Nishaanth, M Harisankar Reddy, K Bhagath Verma
Mumbai Indians (MI) Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Rahul Chahar, Aditya Tare, Anukul Roy, Anmolpreet Singh, Chris Lynn, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Mohsin Khan, Saurabh Tiwary, Adam Milne, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Piyush Chawla, Jimmy Neesham, Yudhvir Charak, Marco Jansen, Arjun Tendulkar