Dubai: Following a prolonged break of over four months, match 30 of IPL 2021 will finally be played at a revised location here as the current two-time defending champions Mumbai Indians take on their nemesis Chennai Super Kings in the second phase of the tournament on Sunday.
The mega clash doesn’t just mark the return of the most-watched cricket league in the world but also serves as a distraction for the Indian cricket fans, who are disappointed to hear the rumours of lack of harmony in the Indian dressing room with Virat Kohli stepping down as T20 captain.
However, Sunday’s blockbuster will mostly be focussed on MS Dhoni, who might very well be playing his last IPL given his role as an Indian team mentor beckons at the T20 World Cup right after. But first, the 40-year-old wicket-keeper batsman must prove that he is match-ready given his last competitive match at any level was a defeat against their Sunday’s rival in IPL back in April.
Of course, the two-time World Cup winner will take confidence from the fact that CSK currently sit second in the points table after seven games with 10 points (five wins and two losses) and may go top of the table with a win.
However, doubts over the availability of an injured Faf du Plessis and an insignificant amount of current Team India players in the squad meant CSK are short on quality as far as matching the might of MI is concerned.
Dhoni will be expecting that his fellow old guards Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu won’t be in need as much time as the skipper to be match-ready given they are slightly younger and fitter than him. But no noise or speculations over their forms means the onus will naturally fall on Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur (sole two active Team India members of CSK) to play a bigger hand.
Out-of-favour names like pacer Deepak Chahar and opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, on other hand, will have a point to prove ahead of the T20 World Cup.
However, putting up a team that boasts names from the yesteryears won’t be enough if an outfit is facing the giants in Mumbai Indians, who are uncomfortable being fourth in the table (8 points in 7 games) and are eager to erase this anomaly. Not many will be as eager as MI skipper and opener Rohit Sharma to flex his muscle this IPL as he will like to leave no shred of doubt in his run to become the new T20 captain of India, if not more.
To his advantage, Rohit will have at his disposal an arsenal of Indian players who will also be part of the national team setup at the World Cup next month. Likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Rahul Chahar are already self-motivated in their fight for a place in the playing XI of the national team and will be feeling secure under the capable hands of Rohit.
And once done admiring the indigenous strength of the five-time champions have the right-balance of match-winning foreign players in all-rounder Kieron Pollard, ‘keeper batsman Quinton de Kock pacer Trent Boult, Adam Milne among others. (UNI)
