CSK vs MI Highlights, IPL 2021: Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians by 20 runs to go top of the table

Gaikwad gives Boult the charge and the ball races away to the boundary behind. Boult follows it with a cutter, which Gaikwad nearly plays on. Five overs gone, CSK are 18/3

Once again, Milne fires in the short ball but this time Gaikwad gets behind the ball and spots it well to dispatch it for a boundary. Only the second boundary of the innings. The first was hit by Suresh Raina as he top edged the ball towards the third man boundary.

GONE! That's another wicket down. MI have rattled CSK and shredded their top order. Suresh Raina plays a horrible stroke and with that, CSK are 7/3 in the third over.

Things going from from bad to worse for CSK. Ambati Rayudu retires hurt after getting hit on his left elbow. A lightning quick delivery from Milne and it bangs into Rayudu's forearm which is without any guard. Rayudu immediately goes down to the ground and after a long discussion with the physio, it's decided that he would leave the field.

OUT! Adam Milne gets Moeen Ali as he hits the ball to Saurabh Tiwary at cover for a straightforward catch. He falls for a duck as well. CSK 1/2 inside 2 overs.

And it's a wicket in the first over. du Plessis slices the ball to short third man and Boult strikes in his first over. How often do you see a batsman getting out caught at that position, in the first over of the match? Very uncharacteristic dismissal for someone of du Plessis' calibre. CSK 1/1 after 1 over.

The vicious in-swinger from Boult but it was swinging just about enough to miss the leg stump. Boult and MI got up in unison for a huge appeal but even they knew it was doing too much. Alright then, drama immediately. 

The left-arm pacers immediately with the one that comes in but safely negotiated by Gaikwad. The wickets looks a lot greener for the batsman's liking. Is that a look that is going to deceive? Or are Boult and Bumrah actually licking their lips.

The average first innings total at the venue is 167. 17 times have team batting first won, while the one batting second has won on 13 occasions. Three matches have ended in a tie.

MI's top bowler vs CSK's top batsman. That promises to be one heck of a contest. Bumrah is playing his 100th IPL match and he would want to make it even more special. And what better way to do so by picking up the big wicket of FDP. Remember, he did not play the last few CPL matches, so here is a golden opportunity for MI to stop him from getting a start and send him back early.

Although usually, Ishan Kishan has opened the innings for MI in the absence of one of their openers, but the line-up suggests that he may come in at No. 3 and Suryakumar Yadav might open with Quinton de Kock. Wow! All you SKY fans out there. Here's another chance for Suryakumar to prove himself batting at yet another important position. 

"We weren't so sure, so happy that I lost the toss. Rohit is okay, he'll be fine sooner rather than later, I'm just the captain for today. We started a couple of months back, and we were just starting to build the momentum with a couple of wins. Rohit misses out, Hardik is not playing as well. Anmolpreet makes his debut, that's about it, all others are regular players."

"Looks like a good wicket. Setting a target will be a better option. It's the same for everyone. I can't say if it's a good break or not. Once tournament starts, you get into some sort of rhythm but this season it's new and maybe us cricketers will start loving it. Seven games, then a break, and seven more. It comes down to how you play on that day in the shortest form. We'll try to do the basics right and focus on the process. Sam is not available. Faf, Moeen, Bravo and Josh are playing this game."

1 Quinton de Kock, 2 Suryakumar Yadav, 3 Ishan Kishan (WK), 4 Anmolpreet Singh, 5 Kieron Pollard (Captain), 6 Saurabh Tiwary, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Adam Milne, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Trent Boult

1 Faf du Plessis, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 3 Moeen Ali, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Ambati Rayudu, 6 MS Dhoni (WK/Captain), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Dwayne Bravo, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Josh Hazlewood

Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni has won the toss and opted to bat. Like we expected, Rohit Sharma is not playing the game and in his absence Kieron Pollard is leading Mumbai Indians. 

After a wait for 4.5 months, we are finally here. The toss is coming up in 2 minutes and it is likely that we do not see Rohit Sharma at the toss. He wasn't part of the MI team huddle and that could be a sign that MI would have another captain for tonight's game. Who would it be - Kieron Pollard, or Jasprit Bumrah? 

So by the looks of it, it is possible that Rohit Sharma may not play this game. And we say that purely based on the visuals that are coming from the Dubai International Cricket. Rohit was made to go through the paces and it looks like he's running a little gingerly. Sunil Gavaskar says 'it's not looking promising'.

The West Indies great has backed Mumbai Indians to 'get the better of' Chennai Super Kings. And the reason behind it is the fact that MI have returned to the UAE, where CSK had their worst IPL campaign last year.

And rightly so. Last year, when the IPL was played in the UAE, CSK had an unforgettable campaign, finishing seventh on the points table. But this year, CSK have been back to their phenomenal best. Surely, the jitters of last year would be the last thing on MSD's mind.

We are less than half an hour for the toss. 20 minutes from now to be precise. Excited? Chennai Super Kings taking on Mumbai Indians to kick things off in the second half of IPL 2021. Get set for a Bumper Sunday evening. 

The CSK pacer did not have the best of starts in IPL 2021, picking up only 5 wickets from 7 matches at an average of 53.40. Twice has he leaked more than 50 runs and mostly been expensive while bowling between overs 7 and 15.

Whatever XI CSK decides to field today, one thing is for sure. There will be no Sam Curran in their line-up. The England all-rounder arrived late in the UAE and is yet to complete his mandatory quarantine. In that case, the 4 overseas players for CSK are expected to be Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, Lungi Ngidi and Josh Hazlewood. Imran Tahir is another candidate but considering he only played 3 games in the last season in the UAE makes him a doubtful starter. 

The toss up for Mumbai Indians' third seam bowling option is likely going to be between Adam Milne and Nathan Coulter Nile, and the New Zealand speedster is expected to get the nod over the Aussies on the back of his recent form. Milne had a terrific outing at The Hundred, grabbing 12 wickets and finishing the tournament as its leading wicket-taker.

Even though MI have two of the best T20 fast bowlers up their ranks in Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult, the pace bowling has been a bit of a concern for the five-time champions. In the first-half of the seasons, MI pacers accounted for 19 wickets, which is the lowest along with Sunrisers Hyderabad among all 8 franchises.