The big Sunday showcase game in the IPL season’s opening weekend will be the biggest of all rivalries in this tournament, as Chennai Super Kings prepare to take on the Mumbai Indians at the M Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. It’s the yellow vs the blue, the two teams with the most IPL trophies to their name, as historic as franchise rivalries can get. At home, the pressure is on for CSK to start with a win.

CSK are another one of those teams that stuck with a very familiar core through the auction retention process, choosing to build around the pieces they already had in place. CSK missed the playoffs last year, an exceedingly rare occasion: they reached the playoffs of every tournament from 2008 to 2019. And while they have missed it thrice in the last five seasons, they have finished as champions in the other two years.

It’s a now-familiar CSK team, one captained by opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, who will be trying to establish himself as a national team candidate. Gaikwad will open alongside Devon Conway, the Kiwi opener being the incumbent player in that position — although Rachin Ravindra’s strong form means he is knocking on that door.

CSK made a typically astute buy by bringing Rahul Tripathi on board, with the experienced IPL journeyman set to be his ultra-aggressive self at number three in this batting lineup. He will be followed up by Shivam Dube, who remains a batter who spinners fear and opposition captains hate to see striding out.

Number 5 is an interesting spot for this CSK team. It could be occupied by Deepak Hooda or Vijay Shankar, all-round powerful domestic options, or they could enter as an impact player and allow Sam Curran to bat in that position as his batting stocks improve. Number six is the spot that Ravindra Jadeja is expected to land in, a slot he has made his own in Chennai over years of valuable work.

Number seven, thala for a reason, MS Dhoni could bat in that position as he steps in as a pinch hitter at the very end of games. Dhoni showed he still had the power stroke, and has developed into a lower order hitter with age. Following him could be Ravichandran Ashwin, who returns to the CSK yellow, the professor of cricket, and also an option to send up the order as a punch-hitter and insulation against a collapse.

With several overs of the bowling already in place, the final three bowling slots will likely go to exciting Sri Lankan paceman Matheesa Pathirana, who looks set to be the leader of this attack. He will have support from a new ball specialist in Khaleel Ahmed, who could potentially be used to bowl three overs in the powerplay. Lastly, at least on the slow tracks of Chepauk, expect Noor Ahmad to get the nod over Jamie Overton, his left-arm wrist spin adding a dimension that only one other frontline player in this tournament possesses.

CSK likely XI vs MI:

Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Shivam Dube, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, R Ashwin, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesa Pathirana, Noor Ahmad

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