Faltering giants seek revival in crunch clash

Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians find themselves in a position where potentially only one will book a place in the final four. These two share 10 titles between them and have headlined the IPL final four times in a storied rivalry.

With only three wins from eight games for CSK and two for MI, both sides are playing catch-up in a tightening playoff race. This clash is less about historic rivalry and more about survival.

CSK lost their first three games, bounced back with two wins, but losses to Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans have pegged them back. They will hope to draw inspiration from their crushing win over MI at Wankhede and complete a double.

For MI, injuries to Quinton de Kock, Mitchell Santner and Rohit Sharma haven't helped. Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah have looked lacklustre.

When: May 2 at 7:30 PM IST
Where: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Head to head: CSK 19 – 21 MI; CSK lead 5-1 since 2023

Injuries/Unavailabilities:

• MS Dhoni edged closer to return, batted in nets 24 hours before game
• Spencer Johnson could debut for CSK
• Rohit Sharma's availability to be decided on match day
• Quinton de Kock missed last game with wrist injury

Probable XII – CSK: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Kartik Sharma/MS Dhoni, Jamie Overton, Prashant Veer/Akeal Hosein, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Spencer Johnson/Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh

Probable XII – MI: Ryan Rickelton (wk), Will Jacks, Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Robin Minz, Shardul Thakur, Corbin Bosch/Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar, Mayank Markande

Key stats:

• Only MI (5-4) and PBKS (6-4) have a positive win-loss record over CSK at Chepauk
• Sanju Samson scored 264 runs in CSK wins, just 40 in losses
• Anshul Kamboj has most wickets (8) at death in IPL 2026

Quotes:

• CSK batting coach Michael Hussey on Kartik Sharma: "Great talent… excited about his future. He's got a great attitude, trains well, very ambitious."
• MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene on Rohit Sharma: "Working hard to get back. We'll make a decision tomorrow."