Mumbai Indians players Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya during a training session. (Source: PTI)Mumbai Indians look to make the most of the returning Australian players into the squad, as pacer Jason Behrendorff was replaced for the encounter against Chennai Super Kings at Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday. The side also were forced into replacing Mayank Markande with spinner Rahul Chahar, with the former being “unwell”.
Speaking after losing the toss, MI captain Rohit Sharma said: “It’s an important game for us. Two losses in three games doesn’t justify. I thought we played some good cricket, but couldn’t capitalize on the crucial moments. We would’ve chased first. It’s a blessing in disguise to bat. But it looks like a good wicket to bat. In all three games, we have got 170-plus with the bat. So, If we bat to our potential, we will get to a good score and that is the idea. Let’s post a good score and have something for the bowlers. We have got two changes. Mitchell McClenaghan misses out and Jason Behrendorff makes his debut for us. Mayank Markande is not well and Rahul Chahar makes his debut too. He has been a great asset for us, didn’t play last year but a very exciting talent, very energetic on the field and can bat a bit as well. Hopefully, all of us together can deliver today.”
Chennai Super Kings made only one change with pacer Mohit Sharma coming out to replace spinner Mitchell Santner. With Deepak Chahar being the other pacer in CSK’s side, he will go directly against his brother Rahul, who will play his first game for MI this season.
Speaking after winning the toss, and electing to bowl, CSK captain MS Dhoni said: “It’s 14 games in IPL, the more you win, the better it is. We don’t look at the result, it’s byproduct. We look at doing the basics well. We will bowl first. It’s one of those wickets, if you don’t bowl in the right areas you will be punished. There is some help for the fast bowlers. I feel it’s important to let the opposition put the runs on board and we will look to chase it down. With so much grass, it doesn’t look like a turner. Still every venue poses it’s own challenges. So, we need to adapt quickly and take the game forward. We have got Mohit in place of Santner.”
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Quinton de Kock(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Yuvraj Singh, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga, Jason Behrendorff
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Kedar Jadhav, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Mohit Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir
