The opening match of the eleventh season of the IPL sees the two most successful franchises in the history of the competition going head to head when the Mumbai Indians begin their title defence against the Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
This will be their first meeting in a while as the Super Kings make their long awaited return from suspension in this match and after a series of personnel change in the auction in the close season both teams will want to make a winning start.
Mumbai Indians
The Mumbai Indians rode a quality bowling attack all the way to the title last season and they will be hoping to go close again this term although certain members of that attack have moved on and perhaps worryingly a couple of batsmen have headed for pastures new too. That said they have a solid Indian core remaining and that is often the necessary factor here.
On the face of it Mumbai look a batsman light but to counter that they do have a couple of players who can play the big innings and if one of those gets going then they will still put up the massive scores that will be needed as the season goes on. They might have lost a bowler or two but their attack looks strong still so they’ll be tough to beat.
Chennai Super Kings
It might have been almost three years since the Super Kings side last donned the yellow kit but not a whole lot has changed. MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Dwayne Bravo have almost been ever presents for them in the IPL and they remain with the side but a fresh set of overseas players could see them as dangers on their return to the side.
One concern could come in the form of a lack of power particular lower down the order and in that respect there will be a lot of pressure on MS Dhoni to deliver the goods as the season goes on. The other concern is that while this side looks like it will be perfectly suited to the Chennai wicket it remains to be seen how they go on their travels.
Team News
Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has refused to state prior to the match where he will bat but he is not expected to open. Pat Cummins is likely to come into the bowling attack alongside Mitchell McClenaghan. Evin Lewis and Kieron Pollard are expected to complete the overseas crew.
Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming has confirmed that Faf du Plessis is unavailable for this match so it remains to be seen how the returning outfit will line up. We can be fairly sure that Dwayne Bravo will be one overseas player but the rest of the unit could be any one of many combinations.
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Betting
I fancy the Mumbai Indians will get off to a winning start here but they are plenty short enough when you consider the danger that Chennai could possess, especially with the ball so I will head to the side markets for my first bet of the tournament.
That comes in the form of the most sixes where I really like Mumbai. They have a couple of true power hitters in Evin Lewis and Kieron Pollard while the likes of Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav can smoke a long ball too but it is the quality of the Indians bowling attack too which makes me like them here. Bumrah and Cummins aren’t likely to go for many sixes and with Chennai a power hitter or two light the 5/6 on Mumbai hitting the most sixes appeals here.
Tips
Back Mumbai Indians Most 6s for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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