Two surprise losses to Rajasthan Royals in their last four games have Mumbai Indians nervously looking over their shoulder in the race for the IPL 2019 playoffs.
The other two games in that run were wins against Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, and they could have put some distance between themselves and the other play-off challengers.
They’d love to be in Chennai Super Kings’ position, qualifying early. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s side took care of business by beating Sunrisers Hyderabad last time out to end a run of two straight losses. Now they can relax and watch the carnage below.
CHENNAI TO ROTATE AND TEST DEPTH?
With Chennai having already qualified, the team can start to test its depth. Faf du Plessis, the only batsman who has shown consistent form this season apart from Dhoni, could be rested with Ambati Rayudu given the opener’s slot. This will give the 33-year-old an opportunity to build on his solid innings from previous matches.
There’s also the possibility to test out players like Sam Billings and Scott Kuggeleijn, who have made only a handful of appearances so far – or David Willey, who ended up playing a key role at the back end of last season. Billings’ inclusion would allow Dhoni to take a break as well – he’s already missed one match this campaign due to back spasms.
It’s always risky to make wholesale changes and perhaps CSK would want to wait until they seal top spot, but expect some rotation nonetheless.
Why do CSK make the playoffs every season?
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) April 23, 2019
MS Dhoni is not revealing anything till he retires 🤐 pic.twitter.com/K7nSCak3qu
TIME FOR ROHIT SHARMA TO FIRE
A return to the top of the order for Rohit Sharma was supposed to help both the captain and his team this season. Mumbai have done reasonably well, putting themselves in a strong position to reach the playoffs.
But the move hasn’t worked quite as well for Sharma. The India opener has a top score of 48, one of only two innings where he’s crossed 40. The soft dismissals that have always been a frustrating part of the talented batsman’s game have been more frequent this season, while his struggles against spin are becoming more pronounced – he has now been dismissed by three of the last four balls of spin he’s faced.
A loss for Mumbai here could be the start of an untimely wobble. It’s the perfect chance for Sharma to turn his season around – especially with opening partner Quinton de Kock set to leave for South Africa soon.
A legend of the shortest format 💙💙💙💙
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) April 18, 2019
Keep piling runs, skipper 💪
#OneFamily #CricketMeriJaan #MumbaiIndians #DCvMI @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/3FtwiBI2Se
LIKELY XIs
Chennai Super Kings: Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c & wk), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Ben Cutting, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga, Mayank Markande
