As the league phase of IPL 2026 trinkles towards the half-way stage, two fierce rivals – Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings – take on each other at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Thursday. Both the five-time champions are in the bottom half of the points table with two wins in six games.
Mumbai Indians registered a comprehensive 99-run win against Gujarat Titans in the last game with Tilak Varma getting back into form to score a magnificent century. Varma’s form was a cause of concern for the franchise and the left-hander would want to carry the good show.
Jasprit Bumrah was also able to end his wicket-barren run as he dismissed Sai Sudharsan for a golden duck. Bumrah is currently the best bowler in the world but that wicket would have given him plenty of confidence.
Rohit Sharma could return to the playing XI after missing the last two games due to injury and MI might continue backing Quinton de Kock as an opener.
On the other hand, CSK’s in-form batter Ayush Mhatre has been ruled out of the entire season due to a hamstring injury. Urvil Patel, who had an impressive strike rate in IPL 2025, is likely to replace the youngster in the playing XI.
CSK’s skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad’s form has been under scrutiny and the right-hander would want to lead from the front.
Head to Head: Matches: 39, Won by MI: 21, Won by CSK: 18.
Mumbai Indians Squad: Quinton de Kock(w), Danish Malewar, Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Sherfane Rutherford, Mitchell Santner, Krish Bhagat, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar, Raj Bawa, Corbin Bosch, Mayank Rawat, Raghu Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Shardul Thakur, Will Jacks, Mayank Markande, Ryan Rickelton, Robin Minz, Mohammed Salahuddin Izhar
Chennai Super Kings Squad: Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Matthew Short, Sarfaraz Khan, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Matt Henry, MS Dhoni, Akeal Hosein, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Chahar, Spencer Johnson, Urvil Patel, Aman Khan, Zakary Foulkes
