Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, two of the most successful teams in IPL history, and perhaps two of the most deserving teams of the tournament will clash in the finals of IPL 2019. MI and CSK have played some terrific cricket this year and we have a mouth-watering contest on our hands.
Talking about the previous encounters between the two teams this year, Mumbai Indians have the upper hand as they have defeated the Super Kings three times, including in Qualifier 1.
However, Mumbai Indians will be wary of the fact that CSK has some proven match-winners in the side who cannot be taken lightly. CSK, on the other hand, will bank on the experienced players to win the crucial moments of the match.
What does Mumbai Indians need to do to win?
Mumbai Indians' batting has been the team's strength this year. Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav have been in terrific form and they will need to be at their best in the finals. The toughest task for Mumbai Indians will be to stop the strong batting lineup of CSK. If the MI bowlers fail to do so, then the CSK batsmen will take the game away from them.
What does Chennai Super Kings need to win?
The players in the Chennai Super Kings side have played a lot of finals in their careers and this experience of playing in big matches will come in handy. CSK bowlers have done well so far but they will have their task cut out against an explosive Mumbai Indians batting side.
Key battles
Quinton de Kock vs Harbhajan Singh
Dhoni will surely bring in the veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh against an in-form Quinton de Kock. Can Harbhajan stop De Kock?
Hardik Pandya vs Ravindra Jadeja
Hardik Pandya has been brutal against spinners this season but Dhoni might take the gamble of getting in Jadeja against him. It will be interesting to see who wins the battle of all-rounders.
MS Dhoni vs Jasprit Bumrah
MS Dhoni has been outstanding in the tournament so far, especially in the death overs. He will be up against the best death bowler in the world, Jasprit Bumrah. Dhoni hasn't had the best of times facing Bumrah, scoring only 47 off 45 balls against the death-over specialist. Bumrah, on the other hand, has got the better of Dhoni on 3 occasions. This may well turn out to be the contest that decides that game.
Who will win the match?
Considering the number of match-winners in both the sides it is extremely difficult to predict the winner. But keeping in mind the current form, Mumbai Indians will hold the edge against CSK.
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