Mumbai and Chennai square off in the opening clash of the Indian T20 League 2020 on Saturday in Abu Dhabi. 

Date: Saturday, September 19, 2020

Time: 7:30 PM

Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium

City: Abu Dhabi

Stadium Capacity: 20,000

Ends: North End, Pavilion End

Hosts to: United Arab Emirates

Team Preview 

The top two champion sides will kick start the mega event of the Indian T20 League in UAE. After the Auction 2019, both sides included some quality players in the squad. Mumbai is 4 times champions and they have finalized their XI ahead of the opening game. Lynn will be dropped as Rohit and De Cock will come as openers. In the bowling unit, Mumbai might go with two overseas bowlers Trent Boult and Nathan Coulter Nile. According to the spin condition in UAE, Mumbai can also go with an extra spinner, dropping one of the pacers. Pollard and Pandya are already the good picks to complete the 5th bowling option so Rohit could try one more spinner in the squad along with Rahul Chahar and Krunal Pandya. 

Meanwhile, Chennai is also a strong side but missing Raina at top-order might trouble their scoring. The spin attack is the key asset for Chennai and the conditions are similar to their home ground. Tahir recently played in Caribbean League and performed high in spinning conditions. Jadeja and Chawla will also help him to put pressure in middle-overs. The top-order could be a worrying sign but overall, Chennai has captain Dhoni who can change the game with his brave calls on the ground. 

Pitch Report 

Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi is a batting-friendly track, and being the first game on the surface, batting would be quite easier. Spinners can control runs and draw trouble in second innings. Batting first would be an ideal call after winning the toss.

Possible XI

Mumbai Indians

Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult

Chennai Super Kings

Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Kedar Jadhav, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Piyush Chawla, Deepak Chahar, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir, Shradul Thakur

Key Players

Mumbai Indians

Quinton de Kock

Kieron Pollard

Chennai Super Kings

Imran Tahir

MS Dhoni

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