IPL 2019 – Match 15: Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings – CSK Predicted Playing XI

The last time when Chennai Super Kings (CSK) played in the Wankhede Stadium against the Mumbai Indians (MI), they managed to stun the opposition. In the tournament opener of IPL 2018, the visitors won the match by just 1 wicket after DJ Bravo scored a terrific 68 off 30 balls. Now, nearly after a year, the rivalry between both these team will revive yet again.

They will face each other in the 15th Match of IPL 2019 and it is expected to be a thrilling contest yet again. Chennai seems to have got their combinations right already and are entering into this game after a hattrick of wins. However, looking at the conditions, the visitors might change their eleven slightly.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK):

Openers (Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson)

For two times in this tournament already, both Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu were subjected to tough conditions. Thus, it resulted in them getting off to a poor start in the tournament. But in Mumbai, they should clearly enjoy the conditions and will hope to bring out great performances.

Shane Watson scored a blistering century against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) when he last played at the Wankhede in IPL 2018 final. The Australian, who was the Man of the Match in CSK’s second game, will be looking forward to repeating the same kind of heroics yet again. Rayudu, though, should look to spend as much time as possible in the middle.

Middle Order (Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (c)(wk), Kedar Jadhav)

It is quite frustrating to see someone like Suresh Raina getting off to starts but failing to convert them into big ones. He played well in all the three games thus far but threw his wicket away at the moment when he started to look dangerous. Raina has got sweet memories of playing at the Wankhede and should look to excel in the upcoming game.

MS Dhoni should bat at four in this line-up. As we’ve seen in the last game, he is dangerous when he settles in. He can anchor the innings initially and can explode at the death. Kedar Jadhav can take up the role of a finisher in this eleven as he doesn’t need much time to settle in.

All Rounders (DJ Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja)

DJ Bravo has been bowling extremely well in this season. Unlike last year, he isn’t leaking a lot of runs at the death and is picking up regular wickets. He bowled a brilliant final over against the Rajasthan Royals. CSK can trust him with the bat and can use him according to the situation of the game.

Ravindra Jadeja is the other all-rounder CSK will field. He is usually quite economical with the ball. Even though he struggled the other night with the dew around, he’d hope to perform better in Mumbai. The southpaw can also be useful with the bat down the order.

Bowlers (Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir)

Since they are playing in Mumbai, CSK could look to replace Mitchell Santner with Harbhajan Singh. Bhajji knows the Wankhede extremely well and was with MI for 10 long years. Hence, he would be looking forward to showing his former team his capability. Imran Tahir will be the other spinner who will share spin duties with Harbhajan.

Tahir has been bowling better than anyone else in the CSK line-up. Dhoni has used him in difficult situations and he did well. Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur will complete the CSK line-up. While Chahar bowls four overs at the top, Dhoni has kept his faith in Shardul and backs him to come good.

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