The El Clasico of the Indian T20 League returns as Team Chennai take on Team Mumbai in the first qualifier on Tuesday. Stakes are set sky high and a lot is expected from the teams, who have been on the neck of each other every time they’ve locked horns.
It’s the visiting team, Mumbai, who come on the back of a superior head to head record, having won 15 of their 26 games in the past. Chennai, on the other hand, follow suit with 11 victories at their disposal.
The venue, MA Chidambaram Stadium, has been a fortress for Chennai over the years, but Mumbai are the only team to have breached the walls and beat the defending champions twice this season. Mumbai has lost just one of their last seven games against Chennai and come into the fixture as favourite, having thrashed Kolkata in their final league stage game by nine wickets.
That being said, it is high time we look at who should be your pick for the fixture.
Batsman: Quinton de Kock
To say the Mumbai opener, Quinton de Kock, has been his team’s silent guardian this season would be an understatement. With 492 runs in 14 games thus far, he has already registered his best ever tally in the tournament, and just needs eight runs to become only the fourth batsman to reach the 500-run mark this season.
Carrying an impressive average of 37.84, the reason why he should top your list ahead of Rohit Sharma is the latter’s record in the playoffs. Sharma, who has played 15 matches in the playoffs/semi-finals/finals in the history of the tournament, has scored mere 210 runs at a lowly average of 15.
All-Rounder: Hardik Pandya
At 155.30, Hardik Pandya has the best batting strike-rate amongst his team-mates and his skipper would be looking to build his team around the all-rounder’s form. While his batting remains a doom for Chennai this season, his bowling, on a larger scale, has haunted most of Chennai’s batsmen over the years.
Skipper MS Dhoni, who has faced 24 balls against the all-rounder, has scored mere 19 runs. While Suresh Raina has only managed 32 runs off 21 deliveries over the years. Speaking of wickets, Raina has lost his wicket to Pandya twice during the tenure.
Bowler: Jasprit Bumrah
Just like his team-mate, Hardik Pandya, pacer Jasprit Bumrah carries a fantastic record against Chennai’s batting contingent. The 25-year-old, who has scalped 17 wickets this season, has been an absolute revelation against the likes of Dhoni, Murali Vijay, Shane Watson and Suresh Raina, having dismissed them thrice, once, twice and twice respectively.
All this coupled his supremacy in the death overs in an added bonus for his team and the fantasy coaches.
