IPL 2019 MI vs CSK Final Preview: Deja vu for Dhoni, Rohit in 'El Clasico'

Both Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have lifted the IPL trophy thrice but Mumbai have an upper hand as they are ahead of Chennai in head-to-head figures

In the final of the VIVO Indian Premier League 2019 (IPL 2019), Mumbai Indians (MI) will play against defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad on Sunday. Rohit Sharma's Mumbai had defeated MS Dhoni's Chennai in the Qualifier 1 on Tuesday to make it to to the IPL 2019 final while Chennai defeated Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi Capitals in the Qualifier 2 on Friday to cruise to the finals. This would be MI's 5th appearance in an IPL final. Mumbai have lifted the trophy 3 times while they lost just once - to CSK in 2010.

CHECK IPL final (MI vs CSK) LIVE score, match and toss updates here

In 2010 IPL final, MI lost to CSK but the men in blue defeated Chennai in 2013 and 2015 final. In 2017, Mumbai faced Rising Pune Supergiants at Rajiv Gandhi Int'l Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad and won the last-ball nailbiter by 1 run.

The Super Kings have lifted the IPL title thrice (in 2010, 2011 and 2018), they also hold the records of most appearances in the IPL playoffs (9) and in the final (8).

Chennai would look to take revenge of earlier defeats in IPL finals but competing with Mumbai will not be a cakewalk as the side has ample of variety in batting as well as bowling.

Mumbai Indians Team News:

Rohit Sharma's Mumbai Indians have had a comparatively easy season as the side managed to get its act together on time and win crucial matches.

Mumbai go into the final as the favourites, having beaten CSK three times earlier in the tournament including in the Qualifier 1 at Chennai on Tuesday. 

Mumbai have an upper hand over Chennai as the head-to-head stats favour them and the players in playing 11 are performing well.

Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock open well for the team and Suryakumar Yadav till now has jusfied his number 3 position. Ishan Kishan has not been able to show much in IPL 2019 but he contributed well in Qualifier 1.

Krunal Padya often bats at number 4 for the team but he does a good job down the order and his ability to strike with the ball adds value. Hardik Pandya has been in most destructive mood and if he gets to bat early, he will be a trouble for Chennai as the batsman is smashing pacers and spinner without any discrimination.

Rahul Chahar has been in great touch with the ball and he will be handy in middle overs where Chennai ususally look to get some stability. Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga have been batsmen's nightmare and Chennai will have to plan well as the duo would not provide much leeway.

Mumbai have the capacity to choke run flow, especially in death overs. Rohit Sharma will rely heavily on his bowlers to do the job well.

Chennai Super Kings Team News:

If youth is what the opposition can brag about, Chennai's ace card has been the experience their players have. MS Dhoni has proved over time that he can turn even tight matches in his team's favour and get the most out of his players.

The side had a comfortable start in IPL 2019 with seven back-to-back wins but the balance tilted as they lost two matches in Dhoni's absence. 

Chennai easily defeated Delhi Capitals on Friday to make it to the record 8th IPL final and it's another chance for the side to settle score with Mumbai who have defeated them twice in IPL finals.

Chennai don't have an aggressive batting line-up but if Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson start well, they can look for a big score. Suresh Raina has not been in good form but Ambati Rayudu can do the hitting for the side. 

Chennai's batting centres around MS Dhoni and the skipper would look to play according to how the top order performs.

Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo have not been able to make impact with bat as well as ball and the side included Shardul Thakur who in the Qualifier 2 but he bowled just one over. Onus would be on Deepak Chahar yet again to pick early wickets along with veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh and Imran Tahir.

Chennai would look to play with one more batsman and Murali Vijay could be the choice for the team.

Here are the predicted playing 11 for MI and CSK

MI playing 11: Quinton de Kock(w), Rohit Sharma(c), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Jayant Yadav/Ben Cutting, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga

CSK playing 11: Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w/c), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur/Murali Vijay, Imran Tahir

IPL 2019, Final: MI vs CSK Live streaming details

Date and Day: May 12, 2019, Sunday.

Place: Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad

Time: 7:30 pm IST

MI vs CSK match live streaming will be available live on Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 in English Commentary and Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 Hindi HD in Hindi Commentary. One can also live stream the MI vs CSK 2019 IPL match on Hotstar app and Tatasky app. The fans can also watch in-depth analysis of live match on Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 1 HD.

MI and CSK squads: 

MI Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Yuvraj Singh, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Anmolpreet Singh, Siddhesh Lad, Ankul Roy, Evin Lewis, Pankaj Jaiswal, Ben Cutting, Ishan Kishan, Aditya Tare, Rasikh Salam, Barinder Sran, Jayant Yadav, Beuran Hendricks and Lasith Malinga.

CSK Squad: Chennai Super Kings: Harbhajan Singh, Shane Watson, Dwayne Bravo, MS Dhoni (c), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Murali Vijay, Karn Sharma, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu, Imran Tahir, Faf du Plessis, Deepak Chahar, Mohit Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Dhruv Shorey, Scott Kuggeleijn, Monu Kumar, Mitchell Santner, Chaitanya Bishnoi, N Jagadeesan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KM Asif