IPL 2020, MI vs CSK LIVE: Tournament opener on SaturdayAfter a long wait, Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to begin in United Arab Emirates (UAE) from Saturday and fans canโt keep calm.
FOLLOW LIVE | CSK vs MI | IPL 2020
Even though the event is being hosted outside the country, it has not dampened the excitement and talk around the big cricket tournament with fans happy to watch from their homes amid the global pandemic. Chennai Super Kings take on Mumbai Indians in the delayed tournament opener.
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MI vs CSK Predicted Playing 11, IPL 2020 Live Updates: In Hindi
India captain Virat Kohli who plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore and most of Indias top players have been in the Emirates since late last month Theyve been in quarantine and slowly getting into match shape for the first time since a tour to New Zealand finished in test series loss in early March A series in South Africa was canceled when international sports was shuttered at the start of the coronavirus outbreak
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Any other team might have thrown in the towel after scoring 149/8 in an IPL final against Chennai Super Kings. Mumbai Indians, however, refused to be defeated.
(PTI/File Photo)
"The fact that there is no crowds on the ground, I actually think that probably puts less pressure on the players," Ponting said in a virtual pre-season press conference from Dubai. "The less noise and everything there probably creates less pressure," he said.
The two teams have been pictured leaving their hotels and travelling to the stadium on their buses. The one big subplot to this big plot of Indian cricket returning after a long break is of course the return of MS Dhoni. Who has not been seen since the 2019 World Cup.
Suresh Raina, who backed out of the IPL this year, sends his wishes to his CSK teammates ahead of their opening match. He says it is unimaginable that he is not there in the CSK ranks on this day. He's one of the few players who have been part of CSK's unconquerable run over the past decade and more.
Two hours till the toss of the first match of IPL 2020. Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni to step out for their teams at 7 pm IST.
Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma conceded that “incomparable” Sri Lankan pace legend Lasith Malinga, who has opted out of this year’s IPL, will be severely missed by his defending champion team given his “unbelievable” past performances. "I don’t think it is easy to come and fill his boots. He has been a match-winner for Mumbai. I have said it many times, whenever we sort of find ourselves in trouble, Malinga was the one to bail us out from that,” Rohit said in a pre-season online press conference.
IPL will be devoid of any physical media presence due to the strict health safety protocols put in place in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. This will be the first edition in which franchises would not be required to conduct pre-match press conferences. However, there will be a mandatory virtual media conference after every game.
PREVIEW: Two greats will pit their wits against each other in the background as their captains, with an ability to achieve greatness, lead their power-hitters out for an IPL match between Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab on Sunday. Delhi Capitals seem to have a slight edge, more so in the spin department, with the trio of R Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Axar Patel streets ahead of their counterparts from the Mohali-based side.
CSK needs to stay focused on Mumbai Indians' skipper Rohit Sharma and getting him out early on in the innings if they want to win the opener. In the last three seasons Rohit has been dismissed 15 times in the powerplay.
MI Probable XI: Rohit Sharma(C), Quinton De Kock(Wk), Surya Kumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Nathan Coulter Nile, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult/ Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah
CSK Probable XI: Shane Watson, Faf Du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(C & WK), Kedar Jadhav, Ravi Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Piyush Chawla, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir
More of UAE for Indian cricketers in the coming future. BCCI and UAE cricket sign an MoU and Hosting agreement for cricket boost between the two nations
The English and Australian cricketers reached few days back and are currently undergoing a six-day quarantine. England vs Australia T20I and ODI series just came to an end and the players were already in a bio-bubble, hence the reduced quarantine time.
Sachin Tendulkar admires the rivalry between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings and believes that there is unpredictability who is gonna win this year.
Dhoni's fans are desperate to watch him play after a long time. The Captain cool was last seen in action in 2019 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand.
There has been a lot of talk around who will replace Suresh Raina at No.3 in CSK’s batting line-up ever since the left-hander decided to pull out of IPL 2020. All that will be put to rest when CSK take on defending champions Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi today.
After being postponed, having its title sponsor replaced and its venue being changed (all of this pandemic related), the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to begin in the United Arab Emirates today. The tournament, like most others, will be taking place under a bio-bubble for the safety of the player. In this episode, Gaurav Bhatt is joined by Nihal Koshie to discuss why this season will come with additional pressures for the player and whether the organisers will manage to pull this off without anyone getting infected. (Express Sports Podcast)
Less than eight hours to go before the much-awaited clash in Dubai