MI vs CSK: IPL 7 Semifinals Preview

MI achieved fourth place in the point table. They had an unbelievable win over RR. They surprised everyone and earn a place at the play-offs. Defending champions MI will take on two-time champions CSK in the IPL Eliminator. MI reached to the play-offs through a better net run rate than RR. Improbable lost against MI cost RR their play-off’s ticket. The all new MI would want to continue the good form. MI will need all their luck while facing the mighty CSK.

Corey Anderson played a splendid 44-ball 95 under tremendous pressure. He single-handedly won the match for MI. He was the backbone of MI’s five wickets win in a high-scoring thriller.

MI has certainly come a long way this time. They tasted five defeats in a row. The first phase of IPL in the UAE was horrible for Rohit and team. MI seems like they put behind their past failures. They found a successful opening pair of Michael Hussey and Lendl Simmons. Simmons has scored the only century of this season. Ambati Rayudu and skipper Rohit Sharma have been in good touch throughout the season. The middle-order is powered by the hard-hitters like Anderson and Kieron Pollard.

MI`s bowling attack looks weak in the absence of Lasith Malinga and Zaheer Khan. Malinga is playing for Sri Lanka against England. Praveen Kumar came as a replacement to Zaheer Khan. He is also suffering from an ankle injury. It is unclear that he will play in the crucial Eliminator against CSK. The spin department is showing promise for MI. Shreyas Gopal and Harbhajan Singh are a good spin combination.

CSK ended their three-match losing streak with an easy eight-wicket win against RCB. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team won both the league matches against MI this season. They would be eager to register one more win against them. CSK has a powerful batting line-up. Team has destructive opening pair of Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum. Smith has scored 501 runs and McCullum has scored 380 runs thes season. Faf du Plessis returned to form in the last game. David Hussey has strengthened the batting attack. Mohit Sharma has been the best bowlers for CSK with 18 wickets. Ravindra Jadeja too picked up 16 wickets.

This is going to be a great contest. CSK will be confident due to their league records against MI. MI will be pumped up with their recent performances and home crowd support.

Teams (from):

MI:

Rohit Sharma (c), Corey Anderson, Jasprit Bumrah, Marchant de Lange, Ben Dunk, Chidhambaram Gautam, Shreyas Gopal, Harbhajan Singh, Josh Hazlewood, Michael Hussey, Praveen Kumar, Sushant Marathe, Pragyan Ojha, Kieron Pollard, Ambati Rayudu, Krishmar Santokie, Lendl Simmons, Pawan Suyal, Aditya Tare, Apoorv Wankhade.

CSK:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c), Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina, David Hussey, Ravindra Jadeja, Mithun Manhas, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishwar Pandey, Mohit Sharma, Samuel Badree, Faf du Plessis, John Hastings, Matt Henry, Ben Hilfenhaus, Ashish Nehra, Baba Aparajith, Pawan Negi, Ronit More and Vijay Shankar.