The absence of Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya is certainly an area of concern for MI fans, with the players capable of winning games single-handedly.
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Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni has won the toss and opted to bat in the IPL 2021 encounter against Mumbai Indians (MI), which marks the resumption of the second half of the prestigious tournament. However, MI skipper Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Hardik Pandya are not a part of the lineup, with Kieron Pollard leading the franchise instead. Pollard played down talk over the absence of Rohit, further mentioning the debut handed to Anmolpreet Singh. Sam Curran misses out for the Chennai-based franchise, with Dwayne Bravo a part of the lineup having enjoyed success in the recently concluded edition of CPL.
Dhoni termed his decision to bat as being influenced by the quality of the wicket.
“We will bat first, looks like a good wicket. Setting a target will be a better option. It’s the same for everyone. I can’t say if it’s a good break or not. Once tournament starts, you get into some sort of rhythm but this season it’s new and maybe us cricketers will start loving it. Seven games, then a break, and seven more. It comes down to how you play on that day in the shortest form. We’ll try to do the basics right and focus on the process. Sam is not available. Faf, Moeen, Bravo and Josh are playing this game,” stated the CSK skipper as quoted by Cricbuzz.
Pollard expressed happiness over losing the toss.
“We weren’t so sure, so happy that I lost the toss. Rohit is okay, he’ll be fine sooner rather than later, I’m just the captain for today. We started a couple of months back, and we were just starting to build the momentum with a couple of wins. Rohit misses out, Hardik is not playing as well. Anmolpreet makes his debut, that’s about it, all others are regular players,” stated the all-rounder.
Lineups:
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock, Ishan Kishan(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Anmolpreet Singh, Kieron Pollard(c), Saurabh Tiwary, Krunal Pandya, Adam Milne, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult.
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood.
Dhoni is now increasingly closer to becoming the first man in the history of the IPL to be a captain in 200 matches. Dhoni had led in the popular tournament on 195 occasions before walking out for the toss of the encounter against defending champions MI. The veteran cricketer enjoys a lead of 64 instances over Virat Kohli, who is on the second spot in the elite list. Dhoni is expected to reach the landmark before the end of the group stages in the UAE leg, having led the Chennai-based franchise from 2008 before going on to captain Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016. The cricketer returned back to captaincy with CSK in 2018.
Gautam Gambhir finds himself on the third spot, having led 129 times in the IPL. Rohit Sharma has led MI on 123 occasions in the popular tournament.
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