We are two minutes past the scheduled start time of 3.30, but the countdown and other formalities are still just happening. Anyway, Chahar has the new ball. Slip for Green.
3.29pm Out come the two umpires, as the two MI openers follow. And, and… Green opens along side Kishan, with Rohit pushed down. I’m not sure if the idea is to help Rohit face more spin than pace.
Andrea MacEache: “Watching your cricinfo commentary with one eye and the Coronation of King Charles with the other. I don’t know which excites me more!!” — I am disappointed to know that there is reason for confusion…
Divyank Singh: “Why do teams name an overseas player among the impact subs when they already have 4 of them in the 11?” — In case an overseas member of their XI picks up an injury and is ruled out of the game, they can replace him with another
3.18pm Thanks Ekanth, and hello everyone. In a quick recap of the two teams’ recent form, we realise that they have both had completely different journeys: CSK have lost two and have had one washed-out game out of the last three, while MI have won both of their previous two. One look at the points table, and you realise that if MI win today, they will climb up from sixth to second; but if CSK win, they will just be up one spot to second.
Time for Himanshu to take over proceedings.
Ayush: “DLS is not adjusted to the Impact Player Rule and That’s why it will give an advantage to chasing team.” Sampath says that won’t make a difference mathematically. But in terms of situational variables, your point holds weight.
SG: “Is Tilak injured? Surprised at MI’s decision to drop him. I hope he comes in as Impact player” Rohit said he had a niggle at the toss.
Cyrus: “When will stokes be brought back.He should have recovered by now they spent a lot on him to keep him benched.” Deiva says No official news from the CSK camp yet, but Stokes has resumed bowling with a longer run-up and he has been batting at the nets over the past week
The Playing XIs are out. Check them out here
MI Impact Subs Kartikeya Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Dewald Brevis, Raghav Goyal, Vishnu Vinod
CSK Impact Subs: Ambati Rayudu, Mitchell Santner, Subhranshu Senapati, Shaik Rasheed, Akash Singh
Rohit says MI have been going well and need to continue going with the momentum, and that they have had concerns which they are looking into. Says the challenge of the IPL is that lots of players come into the squad and the need to pick the right players as per the conditions. Two changes: Kartikeya is out, Raghav is in making his debut. Tilak is out, Stubbs is in
3pm: Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni are out for the toss. Rohit calls wrong and CSK win the toss. Crowd roars, Dhoni says they will bowl first. Says the potential rain and conditions are the reasons. He says so far, every individual has contributed but players need to pay more attention while on the ground. Other than that, they have improved every game despite the slip-ups. But in the second half of the tournament, they need to close games more professionally. “We are playing with the same squad”
Stat from Sampath: Only the third ‘afternoon’ game between MI and CSK. They played two at Wankhede in 2012 and 2013, both won by the home team. Previous two were the 49th match of the respective seasons, so is today’s game.
Pitch and Conditions: Aaron Finch says the history and atmosphere in Chennai is great. It’s a big ground but has a small boundary on one of the square sides. Finch says the pitch is hard as a rock and has fewer cracks. It’s been a high-scoring ground this season so far. Says it’ll be a touch slow and low with the new ball and batters will look to hit straight early and get inventive later on. Pommie Mbangwa says with potential rain around, it’s better to keep things in control know your target by chasing.
Afeef: “Having been a fan of MI since 2011, I was quite surprised when I learnt that before this season, MI had only chased 200-plus once before. It’s something I never realised all this time.” It’s similar with RCB, who have chased 190+ scores only twice since the start of the IPL.
Which side of the wicket will the batter hit the next ball? If you’re in India, you can Play and Watch with ESPNcricinfo’s new game.
2:50pm: The floodlights are already on at Chepauk and the overhead conditions might suit the seamers better, including Tushar Deshpande who has the chance to regain his spot at the top of the wicket-takers’ charts. S Sudarshanan looks into his journey as told by Deshpande himself and Pravin Amre, who saw Deshpande’s rise with Mumbai. MS Dhoni walks out to the theme from Mankatha, which was identified by our scorer, Raghav.
Ravi: “Dont CSK have any better batter than Ambati as IP?” Shaik Rasheed and Subhranshu Senapati are options. Are they better and will they get a chance? We’ll find out in about ten minutes.
Ramapriya: “I can understand the scheduling of international cricket but it’s nightmarish that an outdoor sport is being played in India in May” Not sure if this is tongue in cheek.
You can also track the game with our ball-by-ball commentary in Hindi and in Tamil.
2:40pm: MI have a better record against CSK at Chennai and their middle order is coming together. Things aren’t clicking as well for the hosts. Find out how and what’s at stake for them today in Deiva’s preview. To watch Shaun Tait and Amol Muzumdar look ahead to the game, click here.
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Tilak Varma: I’m enjoying the finishing role, it’s not too different from the past. I’m preparing for every situation, it’s just a matter of having a good mindset and things are going in my way. (On Karaoke with Dewald) I think he is better even though my English is better than his Hindi, but you should decide who’s better (laughs). It’s a special game as CSK vs MI always is, and I’m looking forward to it..
2:30pm: It’s an overcast afternoon in Chennai as Rohit Sharma and Co walk out of the bus, but there is nothing tepid about the rivalry between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, which has been forged by multiple meetings in past IPL finals. The crowd, still small and enthusiastic, are building up as the players warm up. Pre-match interviews and news are coming up as we build up to the game. Stay tuned.
