Who Will Win MI vs CSK 1st Match, IPL 2018?
The opening fixture of the IPL 2018 will see defending champions Mumbai Indians take on the two-time title winners Chennai Super Kings. The match will be played on April 7 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Live action is scheduled to begin at 8 PM local time.
MI vs CSK: Where to Watch/Live Streaming
TV channels: Star Sports, Sky Sports, Fox Sports, OSN Sports Cricket HD
Live Streaming: Hotstar, Bet365, Sky Go, OSN Play
Toss Prediction
The wicket at the Wankhede generally assists the bowlers more during the second period of play. And also since four of the last six T20 matches played at this ground have been won by the side that has batted first, the team that wins the toss here will probably elect to bat first.
Read on for team analysis, betting odds, betting tips and match prediction for MI vs CSK, Indian Premier League 2018....
MI Team News & Playing 11
Team News
Rohit Sharma will be captaining the side this year as well and along with him, the team has retained Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya from last season. The addition of Evin Lewis to the squad means that Mumbai Indians could have a new opening pair with the bat.
Key Players
Rohit Sharma, Evin Lewis, Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya are the big guns with the bat. Skipper Rohit is the third-highest run-getter in the IPL while Lewis, Pollard and Pandya have shown time and again how destructive they can be in the game's shortest version. In Pat Cummins, Jasprit Bumrah and Mustafizur Rahman, Mumbai Indians have a formidable pace attack. Bumrah is the one to watch out for due to his ability to pick up early wickets with the new ball and keeping things tight at the death.
Recent Form
Mumbai Indians topped the points table at the end of the league stage last season with ten wins and four losses from 14 matches. They lost to the Rising Pune Supergiant in the first Qualifier before beating Kolkata Knight Riders in the second Qualifier and Rising Pune Supergiant in the final to clinch their third IPL title.
Mumbai Indians Predicted Playing 11
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Rohit Sharma (c), Evin Lewis, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Mustafizur Rahman, Pat Cummins, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah
CSK Team News & Playing 11
Team News
Chennai Super Kings are returning to the IPL after serving a two-year suspension with MS Dhoni at the helm once again. The franchise have also retained all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo along with batsmen Suresh Raina and Murali Vijay.
Key Players
CSK's batting will rely largely on the likes of Murali Vijay and Suresh Raina at the top and skipper MS Dhoni in the middle order. Raina is the leading run-scorer in the tournament with 4540 runs and is a specialist when it comes to T20 cricket. Dwayne Bravo and Imran Tahir who had a good last season are the major threats in this bowling line-up. Bravo is among the top five wicket-takers in the IPL and he will be the key man for the Super Kings as he doesn't give easy runs to the batsmen.
Recent Form
Chennai Super Kings last appeared in the IPL in the 2015 season where they finished as the table leaders at the end of the league round with nine wins and five defeats. After going down to the Mumbai Indians in the first Qualifier, CSK got the better of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the second Qualifier but could not overcome Mumbai Indians in the final.
Chennai Super Kings Predicted Playing 11
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MS Dhoni (c/wk), Shane Watson, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Harbhajan Singh, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir, Mark Wood
Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings Head to Head
Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have played 22 matches against each other in the history of the Indian Premier League with the former marginally leading the scoreline 12-10. These two sides last faced-off in the final of the 2015 season which the Mumbai Indians won comfortably by 41 runs.
Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings Betting Odds
Mumbai Indians begin as the bookmakers' favorites to win the season opener at odds of 1.73 on Betfair, 1.67 on Unibet and 1.66 each on Bet365 and Betway. Chennai Super Kings are the underdogs amongst the bookmakers for this game. They are being offered at a higher price of 2.28 on Betfair and 2.20 each on Bet365, Unibet and Betway.
Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings Prediction
Chennai Super Kings will look to make their comeback with a bang and the fact that the Mumbai Indians have a history of not starting off well will make them more optimistic. However, the former will be aware that they have faced defeats in their previous three encounters against the latter. Also, Mumbai Indians won five out of the eight matches they played at the Wankhede last year. They certainly have the home advantage in their favor and have more quality all-rounders in the side which is why we feel they are better placed to emerge victorious here.
Final Verdict: Back Mumbai Indians to beat Chennai Super Kings at 1.73 on 1xbet, 1.67 on Unibet and 1.66 each on Bet365 and Betway.
Apr 07, 2018
20:00 IST / 14:30 GMT
Wankhede Stadium - Mumbai, India
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