The Indian Premier League’s (IPL) oldest rivalry will resume once again when the Mumbai Indians (MI) travel to the MA Chidambaram Stadium to face the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Saturday, May 2.
MI will desperately want a win to not only avenge their defeat against the Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium from earlier this season, but also to get back to winning ways, having lost four out of their last five games. They are coming into the game on the back of a six-wicket defeat against the Sunrisers
Hyderabad, where they lost despite scoring 243 in the first innings.
There were some positive signs for MI in their previous game, which included the excellent opening partnership between Will Jacks and Ryan Rickelton, along with the all-rounder display of their captain Hardik Pandya.
However, MI’s bowling remains underpar, with both Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult not being amongst the wickets while struggling to stop the flow of runs.
Here is MI’s strongest predicted XI vs CSK, Match 44, IPL 2026:
Top Order: Will Jacks, Ryan Rickelton (WK), Naman Dhir
MI tried a new opening pair in their previous game against SRH, and luckily for them, it clicked. Ryan Rickelton registered the highest individual score in the history of the franchise when he scored 123 not out from just 55 balls. Rohit Sharma, however, continues to remain a big miss for the five-time champions and is expected to miss another game or two.
Naman Dhir has just lost his way a little in the last two matches, but has previously registered scores of 45 and 50 earlier in the season.
Middle Order: Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (C)
MI have one of the strongest middle orders in the IPL this season, but the Indian trio has been highly inconsistent. Tilak Varma has a century to his name in 2026, but still averages only 26.85.
Suryakumar Yadav needs some form behind his back in the second half of the season. India’s T20 captain averages just 17.8 from his last five innings, with 36 being his highest score, against CSK.
Bowlers: Shardul Thakur, Trent Boult, Ashwani Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar
MI’s bowling has been their weak point all season long. Both Bumrah and Boult have just four wickets between them, with the former taking two wickets from eight outings.
However, amongst the dark clouds, AM Ghazanfar has been his side’s ray of sunlight. The Afghanistan spinner is currently MI’s leading wicket-taker with 10 scalps to his name at a strike-rate of just 12.50.
MI’s predicted playing XI vs CSK in Match 44, IPL 2026:
Will Jacks, Ryan Rickelton (WK), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (C), Shardul Thakur, Trent Boult, Ashwani Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar
Impact Player: Robin Minz
