Big Picture: Clock is ticking for MI, CSK
May is usually the time when Mumbai Indians (MI) peak in the IPL and make a late dash towards the playoffs. It seemed like that dash had begun when Tilak Varma outscored the entire Gujarat Titans batting line-up with an unbeaten 101 off 45 balls, but then Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Sunrisers Hyderabad stopped them in their tracks in the next two games. Eight matches in, MI are currently second from bottom on the points table and are fast approaching a point of no return.
CSK are nearing that point as well, though they are better-placed at No. 6, with one more win than MI. With Punjab Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals all pulling so far ahead, CSK and MI can barely afford any slip-ups from hereon.
Both teams are sweating on the fitness of MS Dhoni (calf) and Rohit Sharma (hamstring), their former captains, who had defined the CSK-MI rivalry for an entire generation. Their new captains Ruturaj Gaikwad and Hardik Pandya haven't been able to impose themselves on the game.
Both sides are also yet to figure out their best XIs: MI have cycled through 22 players and CSK 19 this season. Their usage of the Impact Player rule has also been puzzling. Last weekend against GT, CSK brought in Sarfaraz Khan as an extra batter as early as the fourth over at the cost of a specialist bowler. It was the second time this season that CSK had activated their Impact Player within the powerplay. More recently on Friday, MI's Impact Player Shardul Thakur didn't bowl or bat against SRH.
Form guide
Chennai Super Kings LWLWW (last five matches, most recent first)
Mumbai Indians LLWLL
Key question
Team news: Dhoni, Rohit unlikely to play
Having tweaked an already injured calf, according to CSK coach Stephen Fleming, Dhoni is likely to remain on the sidelines. An early stutter on a bouncy track prompted CSK into bringing in Sarfaraz as an extra batter inside the powerplay. If things go to plan, CSK will look to bring back left-arm seamer Mukesh Choudhary. His Maharashtra team-mate Ramakrishna Ghosh had also measured his run-up against GT last Sunday, and may not be too far away from making his IPL debut.
Chennai Super Kings (probable): 1 Sanju Samson (wk), 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 3 Sarfaraz Khan/Urvil Patel, 4 Dewald Brevis, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Kartik Sharma, 7 Jamie Overton, 8 Akeal Hosein, 9 Anshul Kamboj, 10 Mukesh Choudhary/Ramakrishna Ghosh, 11 Gurjapneet Singh, 12 Noor Ahmad
Rohit is also unlikely to return to action on Saturday and if Quinton de Kock is also unavailable through injury, MI will stick with Will Jacks and Ryan Rickelton, who bashed 78 together in the powerplay against SRH. MI may have to make a choice between Thakur and rookie Krish Bhagat on the bowling front.
Mumbai Indians (probable): 1 Ryan Rickelton (wk), 2 Will Jacks, 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Naman Dhir, 5 Hardik Pandya (capt), 6 Tilak Varma, 7 Robin Minz, 8 Shardul Thakur/Krish Bhagat, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 AM Ghazanfar, 12 Ashwani Kumar
Pitch and conditions
Saturday's game is set to be played on pitch no.5, on which PBKS chased 210 with more than an over to spare against CSK in early April. The pace and bounce could allow batters to hit through the line, as was the case during the T20 World Cup at Chepauk as well.
In the spotlight: Akeal Hosein and AM Ghazanfar
Back in the day, Indian fingerspinners such as R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh and Krunal Pandya used to shape the outcomes of CSK vs MI contests. In this season, two unusual spinners have emerged to provide their attacks with a point of difference.
CSK's Akeal Hosein can bowl a deadly arm ball that swerves into right-handers and away from left-handers. When the two sides met for the first time this season, at the Wankhede, Hosein bagged 4 for 17 to send MI crashing to their biggest defeat (in terms of runs).
For MI, AM Ghazanfar has fronted up to bowl the tough overs in the powerplay, and his fizzing carrom ball has been difficult to pick. Even if some batters pick it, they haven't been able to put it away. With Mitchell Santner sidelined from the rest of the season with injury, Ghazanfar is now MI's lead spinner in his first IPL season (he was out injured in IPL 2025). Ghazanfar has taken 10 wickets in six innings at 19.60 - the second-best average for a specialist spinner behind Hosein's 18.16 in this IPL.
Stats and Trivia
CSK have won five of their last six matches against MI since 2023.
Trent Boult has a strong head-to-head record against both Sanju Samson and Gaikwad. The New Zealand left-arm seamer has dismissed Gaikwad thee times in six IPL innings while limiting him to 34 off 31 balls. He has also dismissed Samson as many times, with the benefit of eight innings. Samson has managed only 32 off 27 balls from Boult
Suryakumar Yadav has scored just 162 runs in eight innings at an average of 20.25 and strike rate of 140.86. It's his lowest strike rate in an IPL season since 2019.
MI's attack has conceded at 10.83 runs an over in this season, the worst economy rate among ten teams. In comparison, CSK's has fared better, conceding at 9.37 an over.
