CSK vs MI: Rohit's flair vs Dhoni's acumen in IPL 2023 Saturday Night Fever

Rohit Sharma will like to get his act toger both as a batter as well as skipper, when his star-studded Mumbai Indians take on an astute Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings in what could be safely billed as a Saturday night IPL blockbuster.

Rested well for a week after ir crushing loss against RCB in season-opener, Mumbai Indians will certainly be under additional pressure in front of ir passionate home fans at Wankhede Stadium.

More so, given how ruthlessly y were blown away by Royal Challengers Bangalore in a one-sided game with Virat Kohli taking MI attack to cleaners.

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But to ir advant, inexperience of Rajvardhan Hangargekar and Tushar Deshpande, both warned by ir skipper Dhoni for bowling wides and -balls, will find batting-friendly Wankhede track very challenging.

How well spinners Moeen Ali and Mitchell Santner bowl will also decide CSK's fate against five-time champions. re will be however be a case for Sisanda Magala, who is kwn to nail wide yorkers for South Africa might replace Santner in playing XI.

focus will be a little extra on MI skipper Sharma, who hasn't exactly set IPL st on fire for a few seasons. Indian skipper has had his share of blazing starts but a big kck has eluded him for quite some time w.

In a small ground with short side boundaries, how well Jofra Archer bowls will hold key for MI as likes of Arshad Khan, Cameron Green could be lambs for slaughter for in-form Ruturaj Gaikwad or Devon Conway.

Sharma has fronted questions over Bumrah's absence consistently but Mumbai Indians have also looked to plug in holes by roping in Australian quick Riley Meredith in place of injured Jhye Richardson, and Sandeep Warrier replacing Indian star gives m ar option.

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fresh track at Wankhede can be expected to have some initial assistance for fast bowlers and as home team, Mumbai Indians would certainly want to make most of it, especially given that CSK mselves have struggled in this department in ir last two games.

MI will also be anxious about how ir or batting star Suryakumar Yadav front up against an inexperienced attack.

Young Tilak Verma wd a lone battle to save blushes against RCB for MI with bat and Punjab lad Nehal Wadhera was also impressive on debut. But team will look to put up a collective batting effort starting from top-order.

In Chennai line-up, Gaikwad's imperious form with bat and his pairing with indomitable Convway is best attack weapon for 'Yellow Brigade'.

With two fifties in as many games, Gaikwad has lit up IPL st in best way possible and his side would only wish that right-hander is able to carry momentum from one game to next.

Conway missed out on a half-century against Luckw Super Giants but he put on a century stand with Gaikwad to anunce his return to form.

Shivam Dube and Moeen Ali are vital cogs for CSK in middle-order, for whom venerable Ambati Rayudu and Dhoni have also fired at important junctions, making m look like a better batting line-up in comparison to MI.

In bowling department, Deepak Chahar has looked subdued on comeback following a long injury lay-off but India and CSK seamer will hope to make most of conditions if some underlying moisture is re on offer.

For what it is worth, Mumbai Indians can also draw confidence from fact that y have 20 wins in 34 meetings against Chennai Super Kings in a head-to-head battle in 13 out of 15 editions where two teams locked horns.

Squads: Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (captain), Suryakumar Yadav, Tim David, Dewald Brevis, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Tristan Stubbs, Vishnu Vid, Cameron Green, Arjun Tendulkar, Ramandeep Singh, Shams Mulani, Riley Meredith Nehal Wadhera, Hrithik Shokeen, Arshad Khan, Duan Jansen, Piyush Chawla, Kumar Kartikeya, Raghav Goyal, Jofra Archer, Jason Behrendorff, Akash Madhwal.

Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain and wicketkeeper), Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane, Sisanda Magala, Shivam Dube, Dwaine Pretorius, Ajay Mandal, Nishant Sindhu, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Mitchell Santner, Subhranshu Senapati, Simarjeet Singh, Maesha Pathirana, Mahesh ekshana, Bhagath Verma, Prashant Solanki, Shaikh Rasheed, Tushar Deshpande.

Time: 7:30 PM IST.