Famous rivals get closer to crucial ground
The Mumbai Indians (MI) typically reach their peak in the IPL in May and make a late run to the playoffs. When Tilak Varma outscored the whole Gujarat Titans batting lineup with an undefeated 101 off 45 balls, it appeared as though that dash had started. However, in the following two games, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) stopped them in their tracks. After eight games, MI is now in second place on the points table and is getting close to a dead end.![]() |
| Ramakrishna Ghosh runs into bowl at a training session |
Even though CSK is ranked higher at No. 6 with one more victory than MI, they are also getting close to that point. Given how far ahead Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru are, CSK and MI can not afford to make any mistakes going forward.
May 2, 2026, 4:23 PM
Rohit and Dhoni are unlikely to play
According to CSK coach Stephen Fleming, Dhoni is probably going to stay out of action after tweaking his already ailing calf. Sarfaraz was brought in by CSK as an extra batter during the power play due to an early stutter on a bumpy track. Mukesh Choudhary, a left-arm seamer, would be sought after by CSK if all goes according to plan. Ramakrishna Ghosh, his Maharashtra teammate, may not be too far from making his IPL debut after measuring his preparation against GT last Sunday.
Rohit is also unlikely to play again on Saturday, and MI will continue to use Will Jacks and Ryan Rickelton, who combined for 78 runs in the power play against SRH, if Quinton de Kock is likewise out due to injury. On the bowling front, MI would have to decide between youngster Krish Bhagat and Thakur.
May 2, 2026, 4:57 PM
AM Ghazanfar and Akeal Hosein are in the spotlight
The results of CSK vs. MI matches used to be influenced by Indian finger-spinners like R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, and Krunal Pandya. Two unconventional spinners have surfaced this season to give their offences a unique edge.Akeal Hosein of CSK is capable of bowling a lethal arm ball that veers away from left-handers and into right-handers. Hosein scored 4 for 17 in the first meeting between the two teams this season at the Wankhede, sending MI plummeting to their heaviest loss (in terms of runs).
AM Ghazanfar has led MI in bowling the challenging overs during the powerplay, and it has been challenging to choose his fizzing carrom ball. Some batters have picked it, but they haven't been able to store it. Ghazanfar is currently MI's top spinner in his first IPL season after Mitchell Santner was sidelined for the remainder of the season due to injury (he was out injured in IPL 2025). After Hosein's 18.16 IPL average, Ghazanfar's 10 wickets in six innings at 19.60 is the second-best average for a specialist spinner.
May 2, 2026, 5:49 PM
Conditions and pitch
Pitch No. 5, where PBKS chased 210 with more than an over to spare against CSK in early April, will host Saturday's match. Batters may be able to hit through the line due to the pace and bounce, as was also the case at Chepauk during the T20 World Cup.May 2, 2026, 6:28 PM
At Chepauk, no Dhoni
From the Chepauk, hello. There's a noticeable buzz about CSK vs. MI on this muggy evening. It's still the IPL's El Clasico even though both clubs are sinking to the bottom of the points standings. The majority of the stands are already full. However, I am unable to see Dhoni on the ground. Even if Rohit is in the MI camp, it is improbable that he would play today. Meanwhile, Ramakrishna Ghosh of Maharashtra has made his run-up. He was also on the list of Impact Subs for CSK's prior match against GT. His IPL debut is not too far off.Hardik Pandya gives Raghu Sharma his first IPL cap, confirming MI's IPL debut. Hemant Brar recounts his IPL journey.
May 2, 2026, 7:19 PM
MI chooses to bat; CSK gives Ghosh his debut
Mumbai Indians choose to bat against Chennai Super Kings.Hardik Pandya, the captain of the Mumbai Indians (MI), decided to bat first against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Chepauk. Ruturaj Gaikwad, the captain of CSK, stated that he too would have liked to bat first.
Hardik anticipated that the pitch would perform as well as it did during the T20 World Cup in February of this year, when Zimbabwe scored 184 for 6 in response to India's 256 for 4. Punjab Kings (PBKS) pursued 210 with more over an over remaining against CSK in the most recent IPL match played on this field in early April.
Both Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni were too injured to play in the IPL's El Clasico.
MI called back rookie seamer Krish Bhagat and gave wristspinner Raghu Sharma his IPL debut. Ashwani Kumar and Shardul Thakur were left out of their starting lineup, and Raghu, who got his cap from Hardik, is probably going to be their Impact Sub when they bowl later in the evening.
Ramakrishna Ghosh, a talented all-rounder from Maharashtra, made his IPL debut with CSK. In addition to being the inswinger, the stock ball can also be used at the end. Gurjapneet Singh and Akeal Hosein, who had taken four wickets against MI at the Wankhede, were replaced by left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder Prashant Veer, who was back in the starting lineup. When CSK chases later in the evening, Sarfaraz Khan or Kartik Sharma will probably enter from the bench as their Impact Player.
Chennai Super Kings bowl-first XI: 1 Sanju Samson (wk), 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 3 Urvil Patel, 4 Dewald Brevis, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Jamie Overton, 7 Ramakrishna Ghosh, 8 Prashant Veer, 9 Noor Ahmad, 10 Anshul Kamboj, 11 Mukesh Choudhary
Impact Subs bench: Kartik Sharma, Akeal Hosein, Sarfaraz Kham, Matt Short, Gurjapneet Singh
Mumbai Indians bat-first XI: 1 Ryan Rickelton (wk), 2 Will Jacks, 3 Naman Dhir, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Hardik Pandya (capt), 7 Robin Minz, 8 Krish Bhagat, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 AM Ghazanfar
Impact Subs bench: Raj Bawa, Raghu Sharma, Mayank Rawat, Shardul Thakur, Ashwani Kumar
May 2, 2026, 7:34 PM
Mukesh, welcome back
0 0 1 0 0 0Mukesh Choudhary, a left-arm fast bowler, is bowling the first over. He has been accurate, returning the ball to both the left-handed Rickelton and the right-handed Jacks. Choudhary doesn't give them the drive ball and even accelerates it to over 140 kph.
Against GT, an early wobble had forced CSK to put in an additional batter at Choudhary's expense. He had a strong first over to commemorate his comeback.
Jacks creates a swinging room in the following over and charges Kamboj, but he slices the ball to deep third, where rookie Ramakrishna Ghosh jumps forward and makes a fantastic catch.
May 2, 2026, 7:48 PM
Rickelton and Dhir block the initial strike
In Choudhary's second over, Rickelton throws off the left-armer's rhythm. He smacks the bowler over extra-cover for six after stepping out and creating his own length. Choudhary digs the next ball short, but not short enough to cause problems for Rickelton. He hits consecutive sixes after picking up a hip-high pitch outside off and depositing it over midwicket.Dhir receives a hip-high ball outside off in Kamboj's subsequent over and hits it over midwicket for his own six.
In the fourth over, Rickelton aligns Prashant Veer's left-arm fingerspin and hits three sixes. In five overs, MI is 47 for 1.
May 2, 2026, 8:01 PM
Rickelton leaves when Dube dumps Dhir
Dhir splices Noor's fast fizzer outside off at 95ks to short third, where Dube makes a fine catch. Dube knocks the ball into the turf because he is angry with himself. Dhir gets a life on 19.Two balls later, when Noor has Rickelton holing out to deep square leg for 37 off 24 balls, the more than 31,900 spectators at Chepauk find their voice once more. With a wonderful late-cut past slip for four, SKY gets off to a great start. In seven overs, MI is 63 for 2.
May 2, 2026, 8:07 PM
MI's six-year start
MI blasted seven sixes during today's power play.Here is our statistics expert, Shiva Jayaraman: This is the IPL's greatest percentage of runs through sixes in the opening six overs. The top three are all MI versus CSK, and this innings is at the top.
May 2, 2026, 8:15 PM
Ghosh's introduction
1 0 4 0 1 1Ramakrishna Ghosh gave a rather good opening while sporting a stylish headband. He dismissed Jacks with a fantastic catch in the outfield as his first contribution for CSK. Now, in his first over, he hits the ball into the middle of the deck. Ghosh bowls well defensively, but SKY carves him away past Dube at deep third for four when he goes shorter and wider.
Ghosh steps up to bowl the difficult overs in Maharashtra. He might have to perform a similar task for CSK today as well. Can he handle the pressure of the IPL?
CSK's attack has been so disturbed by injuries and poor form that uncapped bowlers have bowled six of the first ten overs.
May 2, 2026, 8:38 PM
Fall of the Sky
Ghosh hits a hard length and outside off in his second over. SKY couldn't get his arms free. One of the audience favourites at Chepauk, Brevis, receives a catch from him in the end. 21 off 12 balls and gone. In 21 T20 innings since the beginning of 2026, seamers have dismissed SKY 13 times. More precisely, in nine innings this IPL, he has been removed by pace seven times.In the 2026 Indian Premier League, SKY scored 75 runs off 56 balls at a strike rate of 133.92, but was removed seven times.
May 2, 2026, 8:44 PM
Gaikwad clings to the ball after Dube drops it
Dube misses another opportunity, this time at cover, to dismiss Tilak on the second ball. Dube stays back at cover and lets the ball drop in front of him rather than charging in and attacking it. In this IPL, he has had five chances to catch but has missed four of them. Shiva Jayaraman points out that Shashank Singh of PBKS has dropped four of his five catches this season.In the thirteenth over, Tilak presents another opportunity, which Gaikwad seizes despite running into Urvil. In the thirteenth over, MI is 109 for 4.
May 2, 2026, 9:01 PM
Sarfaraz performs a Raina
Raina used to play for CSK at the offside infield. Sarfaraz, the substitute fielder, jumps to his left and makes an incredible catch after Gaikwad sweeps Dube away from cover. That would have made Raina proud. Finally, Dhir's stop-start innings has been stopped for 57 off 37 balls. In the 17th over, MI is 134 for 5. When Kamboj gets Minz chopping on, that quickly becomes 139 for 6 in the following over.May 2, 2026, 9:17 PM
Rayudu and McClenaghan on MI's difficulties
In the last over of the innings, Kamboj ended Hardik's suffering. At a strike rate of less than 80, gone for 18 off 23 balls. CSK keeps MI to 159 for 7 and is a 71% chance to win.May 2, 2026, 9:47 PM
Samson: left and abandoned
Bumrah's first delivery is excellent. Jack drops a sitter while angling in and straightening away to kiss the outside edge on a decent length. Bumrah smashes the outside edge once more at the conclusion of the over by dragging his length back. This time, Rickelton made no mistakes. He jumps and snatches the ball. After nine balls, Samson is dismissed for eleven. Chepauk has been rendered speechless.May 2, 2026, 10:04 PM
Gaikwad begins
Trent Boult is facing up against Ruturaj Gaikwad.4 2 0 1w 0 4
The first boundary in that third over was a picture-perfect off-drive, the kind that distinguishes him for the longer formats and with which he is struggling to stay relevant in this particular match. In his first twelve balls, Gaikwad had struck four boundaries. He's winning this early chase.
May 2, 2026, 10:13 PM
May 2, 2026, 10:47 PM
May 2, 2026, 11:13 PM
Hardik Pandya's team is in danger of being eliminated after the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated the Mumbai Indians (MI) for the second time this season.
CSK exploited pitch no. 5 to their advantage on Saturday, limiting MI to 159 for 7 after misreading pitch no. 6 against the Gujarat Titans (GT) the previous weekend. To make things harder for MI, their offence continued to hammer the ball away on a hard or decent length. With undefeated half-centuries, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Kartik Sharma easily defeated the mediocre aim.
Urvil Patel has left
However, Urvil Patel pulled the ball onto his stumps off AM Ghazanfar at the other end. It's been a lighthearted appearance. 24 out of 12. Every ball he encounters seems to make him want to slog. Given his strength, he might make a bigger impact if he could have a little more faith in his defence against the good passes. He may even resemble Dube from 2023, when he entered the middle overs and immediately put pressure back on the bowler. Mukesh Choudhary has been replaced as an impact player by Kartik Sharma.May 2, 2026, 10:47 PM
Gaikwad's fifty brings CSK closer to victory
Gaikwad's consecutive half-centuries show that he is in form. He has kept CSK's chase together and reached the milestone today off 34 balls. At the opposite end, Kartik Sharma has also made himself at home. This lacklustre chase doesn't need him to take any unnecessary risks.May 2, 2026, 11:13 PM
CSK outperforms MI by a double
Mumbai Indians 159 for 7 (Dhir 57, Rickelton 37, Kamboj 3-32, Noor 2-26) were defeated by Chennai Super Kings 160 for 2 (Gaikwad 67*, Kartik 54*, Bumrah 1-20) by eight wickets.Hardik Pandya's team is in danger of being eliminated after the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated the Mumbai Indians (MI) for the second time this season.
CSK exploited pitch no. 5 to their advantage on Saturday, limiting MI to 159 for 7 after misreading pitch no. 6 against the Gujarat Titans (GT) the previous weekend. To make things harder for MI, their offence continued to hammer the ball away on a hard or decent length. With undefeated half-centuries, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Kartik Sharma easily defeated the mediocre aim.

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