IPL 2020 LIVE: Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings

The stage is all set for cricket’s biggest entertainer. The curtain will go up at 7:30 pm (IST) today (Saturday) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

The wait is almost over. Uncertainty fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic are the things of the past. The first game of the Dream11 Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 is about to start.

It is a repeat of the last years final. Mumbai Indians will open their title defence against Chennai Super Kings. Rohit Sharma’s Blue and Golden brigade against the Yellow Lions led by MS Dhoni.

THE TOP FIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR

Rohit Sharma

Class, finesse, timing and clean-hitting ability. Rohit Sharma is a delight to watch with the bat in hand. Add to it, his leadership credentials. He has been one of the finest openers going around and can easily change the course of the game on his own.

Ambati Rayudu

Crafty, proven match-winner for CSK and someone who can play the sheet anchor’s role and attack when needed. Ambati Rayudu, with 3300 IPL runs against his name, can open the innings and can also bat in the middle-order, and hence, can be a key component to CSK’s success.

MS Dhoni

He may have announced his retirement from international cricket, but ‘Thala’ MS Dhoni continues to be a fan favourite.

With his astute leadership, ability to anchor the Chennai Super Kings’ middle-order, with a good mix of caution and aggression, and lightning-fast glovework, you just cannot take your eyes off this champion cricketer.

Hardik Pandya

Hard-hitter, acrobatic fielder and an immensely handy bowler, Hardik Pandya ticks all the boxes a team will look for in a player. He has been a pivotal member of the Mumbai Indians unit and it won’t be too surprising if he starts the IPL 2020 with a bang.

Jasprit Bumrah

Pace, swing, control, ability and experience. Jasprit Bumrah, who will be spearheading the Mumbai Indians bowling attack, possesses all the traits a team will look for in a bowler and hence, remains a clear-cut contender in the list of the players to watch out for.

PLAYERS TO BE MISSED

Chennai Super Kings will miss their two seasoned warriors – Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh. The middle order left-handed batsman Raina had returned home after 13 members of CSK camp were tested positive for COVID-19 in the first week of their arrival in the UAE. Harbhajan Singh did not travel with the team citing personal reasons and subsequently opted out of the league.

On the dry, turning pitches in the UAE Turbanator would have been a potent weapon. Raina would have been cool customer with all his experience in the middle order.

The match will start at 7:30 pm India time.

Catch all the action LIVE on Star Sports network channels, Star Gold, regional Star Sports network, and regional movie and GEC channels. Fans on the move can catch the LIVE action on Disney+ Hotstar VIP and Disney+ Hotstar Premium.

Squads:
Mumbai Indians (from): Rohit Sharma (Captain), Quinton de Kock (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Anukul Roy, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Dhawal Kulkarni, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohsin Khan, Sherfane Rutherford, Digvijay Deshmukh, Prince Balwant Rai, Saurabh Tiwary, James Pattinson, Aditya Tare, Mitchell McClenaghan, Chris Lynn, Jayant Yadav, Anmolpreet Singh

Chennai Super Kings (from): MS Dhoni (C/WK), Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Kedar Jadhav, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Piyush Chawla, Mitchell Santner, Sam Curran, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, N Jagadeesan, KM Asif, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir, Murali Vijay, Karn Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Lungi Ngidi, Monu Kumar

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