Shorthanded MI face the heat of first-game blues in CSK's den

The Mumbai Indians, shorn of Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, will be looking to overcome their first-game blues when they face the Chennai Super Kings in the third match of IPL 2025. The two five-time champions have a storied rivalry, with CSK holding a slight edge in their head-to-head record.

MS Dhoni, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Rohit Sharma, who featured in the 2012 opener at Chepauk, will be lining up again. The game is a fitting flashback point, as it marks the last time Mumbai Indians won their opening game of a season.

CSK, too, will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2024 season, where they missed the playoffs for the first time while playing their home games at Chepauk. A win against a hungry and pedigreed rival like MI will be a crucial test of their mettle.

When: March 23, 19:30 IST
Where: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
What to expect: A warm and humid evening, with dew playing a role. The pitch may offer some turn, with Black Caps skipper Mitchell Santner likely to have a major say.

Head to Head: CSK 17-20 MI
Injuries & Availability: CSK don't have any major injury concerns to report. MI will be missing Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya.

Probable XII: CSK – Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Shivam Dube, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj

MI – Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Naman Dhir, Robin Minz (wk), Mitchell Santner, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Satyanarayana Raju/Arjun Tendulkar, Vignesh Puthur