Match Details:
The 1st match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 will be played between the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
This game is scheduled to start at 07:30 PM IST (06:00 PM local time) (02:00 PM UTC). The game will be telecasted on the Star Sports Network (Available in English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Bengali). Also, live streaming will be available on Disney+ Hotstar.
Preview:
For the first time in over a decade, the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be entirely played out of India. Due to the General Elections, the entire tournament was shifted to South Africa back in 2019. Since then, the league has always been played in India except for a part of the 2014 season which was played in the UAE.
In the opening clash of IPL 2020, the Mumbai Indians will face the Chennai Super Kings. These were the two teams which finished as the finalists in the last season. While the Mumbai team went on to win the title, the Super Kings finished as runners-up. This game, usually, is one of the most anticipated battles in the IPL and there is a great deal of excitement about the match already.
Weather Report
It will be a hot and humid day in Abu Dhabi with gentle winds blowing. The chances of precipitation are almost nil.
Pitch Condition/Report:
The pitch at this venue is a tough one to bat on. The track is quite slow and also there is a good amount of assistance on offer for the spinners.
Average first innings score: 120 (Last three T20Is played at this venue)
Record of chasing teams: Won – 1, Lost – 2, Tied – 0
Injury and Availability News:
The players who participated in the recent England-Australia series might not be available for this game.
Ruturaj Gaikwad hasn’t recovered yet for Covid-19 and hence will not be available.
Probable Playing XIs:
Mumbai Indians:
Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Nathan Coulter-Nile/Mitchell McClenaghan, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah.
Bench: Saurabh Tiwary, Chris Lynn, Anmolpreet Singh, Sherfane Rutherford, Prince Balwant Rai, Anukul Roy, Aditya Tare, Digvijay Deshmukh, James Pattinson, Mohsin Khan, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jayant Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile/Mitchell McClenaghan.
Chennai Super Kings:
Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, DJ Bravo, Piyush Chawla, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir/Lungi Ngidi, Shardul Thakur.
Bench: Murali Vijay, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Monu Kumar, Mitchell Santner, Sam Curran, N Jagadeesan, KM Asif, Karn Sharma, Sai Kishore, Josh Hazlewood, Imran Tahir/Lungi Ngidi.
Top Picks:
Hardik Pandya last played a game in September 2019. But he was one of the top performers in IPL 2019 scoring 402 runs and also picked up 14 wickets.
MS Dhoni had a fabulous IPL 2019 where he scored 416 runs in 15 games at an average of 83.
Rohit Sharma didn’t have the best of IPLs last year as he got only 405 runs in 15 games. However, he has been in brilliant form since World Cup 2019.
Shane Watson scored 398 runs in IPL 2019 and played a great knock in the final.
Captain and Vice-Captain Selection:
Captain Options – Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja
Vice-Captain Options – Shane Watson, MS Dhoni, Imran Tahir
Suggested Playing XI No.1 for Dream11 Fantasy Cricket:
Keeper – Quinton de Kock
Batters – Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson (vc), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav
All-Rounders – Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya (c), Kieron Pollard
Bowlers – Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Rahul Chahar
Suggested Playing XI No.2 for Dream11 Fantasy Cricket:
Keeper – MS Dhoni (vc)
Batters – Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Rohit Sharma (c)
All-Rounders – Dwayne Bravo, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya
Bowlers – Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir, Piyush Chawla, Trent Boult
Expert Advice:
A player like Ravindra Jadeja can be very useful on the UAE pitches. Hence, you can pick him in any one of your Dream11 Fantasy Grand League teams.
Probable Winners:
Mumbai Indians usually start slow in the IPL. Hence, Chennai Super Kings are expected to win this game.
