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Saxena replaces Injured Jayant in India B squad

Jayant Yadav has been ruled out of the Quadrangular series with a right side strain. In a like-for-like substitution, Jalaj Saxena has been called up to replace the offspin-bowling allrounder in the India B squad. Saxena was originally part of India Green squad, who are scheduled to play a Duleep Trophy game against India Blue from August 29.
Jayant played India B’s match against South Africa A on Thursday, bowling eight overs for figures of 0 for 45, but did not feature in their most recent match against India A. He will now undergo rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.

For all the seriousness of this being a List A fixture, there was a sense that the result was just academic. It was, after all, a contest between 22 players picked by Rahul Dravid, the India A coach, and the national selectors in two representative Indian squads for the Quadrangular series.While a place in the final was still at stake, it was more about how a group of cricketers that live and dine together for at least six months in a year, play alongside and against each other in the IPL, face each other at the nets, and know each other’s game inside-out, go about their game in a proper match scenario. For the record, India B won by seven wickets to post their second successive win.The contest itself wasn’t particularly exciting, but it produced a number of key individual performances, which, when put in context, provided a glimpse into the players’ mindsets. One of those players was Mayank Agarwal.Perhaps unlucky not to receive a call-up to the Test squad for the last two Tests in England, after a superb English summer with India A – he top-scored with 442 runs in six innings at an average of 88.40 in a victorious tri-series campaign – he knuckled down and flattened a quality fast-bowling attack consisting of Deepak Chahar, Mohammad Siraj and Khaleel Ahmed. He seemed to have put his non-selection aside, and his 114-ball 124 allowed India B to gallop towards their target of 218, which they reached with 53 balls to spare.Agarwal fought through the discomfort of batting with a heavily taped left webbing, which he had damaged while attempting a catch in the slips in the 12th over of the India A innings. He spent a couple of hours off the field, but returned towards the end of India A’s innings. With bat in hand, though – he could open because it was an external injury – he looked as assured as he’s ever been, reeling off boundaries in the Powerplay and checking himself in for an extended batting session.The highlight came as he marched into the 40s and hit successive sixes off K Gowtham – both over deep midwicket with the spin – to bring up his half-century. Then he once again buckled down and accumulated, seemingly intent on converting his start into his 12th List A hundred, and his fourth in his last seven innings in that format.As approached the century mark, he became more adventurous. He played and missed two consecutive deliveries and got into some banter with Siraj. The crowd clearly were on local boy Agarwal’s side and egged him on, chanting ” (hit him, son, hit him>)”. Agarwal responded by stepping out and walloping two length balls over extra-cover to march into the 90s, and then brought up his century with a pulled four. When he was out pulling with India B needing 14, he had hit 14 fours and three sixes.Shubman Gill also had a bumper India A tour of England, batting in the middle order. His seamless transition from the Under-19s to the A level along with Prithvi Shaw has many, including Dravid, excited. Fearlessness and situational awareness are traits that Gill is becoming known for, and he displayed them yet again.In England, he was often the aggressor, coming in with platform set to tee off. Here, he walked in at No. 3 in a chase of a middling target after Ishan Kishan’s early dismissal, knowing there wasn’t any need to be overly aggressive. He cut out the lofted hits and other risky shots, and instead showed off his fleet-footedness and punchy drives as he made 42 in a 97-run stand with Agarwal. Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav completed the chase in the 42nd over.As significant as Agarwal’s contribution was Prasidh Krishna’s earlier in the day. The 22-year old fast bowler, whose action is eerily similar to that of Australia’s Josh Hazlewood, finished with four wickets to go with the four he picked up in Thursday’s series-opening win over South Africa A. Two of these came in his first two overs, but the one that would have given him the most satisfaction was his third, that of Shreyas Iyer in the 11th over of India A’s innings.After setting him up with two length deliveries that angled in and held their line – Iyer edged both towards the slips – Prasidh removed the cover fielder. Iyer went for the drive off the next ball, which jagged back in off a good length, beat the inside edge, and trapped him lbw.Ambati Rayudu reconstructed the innings with a watchful 48 and looked set for another big score until he misread a Shreyas Gopal googly, to be bowled driving against the turn. K Gowtham muscled three sixes in his 35, while Sanju Samson, out first ball on Thursday, briefly held the lower order together in making 32.

Lizelle Lee’s fiery 42 at the top and Chloe Tryon’s 22-ball 31 consisting one four and two sixes was key to South Africa women completing a challenging chase of 156 with one ball to spare in Tarouba. The three-wicket win meant they came back from 2-0 down to level the five-match T20I series at 2-2, with one match abandoned. The ODI series too had finished level at 1-1.The result was a significant boost for South Africa on two counts: this came against the reigning Women’s World T20 champions and that the series afforded them an opportunity to acclimatise in the Caribbean ahead of the World T20 in November.West Indies, disappointed as they may be for missing out a chance on a series win, would be happy with Hayley Matthews’ form. The 20-year old who struck a match-winning half-century in that famous World T20 final against Australia in Kolkata more than two years ago, bruised the bowlers to make 52-ball 70 at the top of the order. Shemaine Campbelle, the allrounder, contributed a handy 28 to help finish on a high as West Indies, with little contribution from the middle order, made 155 for 5, after being put in to bat.Stafanie Taylor, the captain, and Deandra Dottin, who made a first-ball duck, finished the series without a half-century to their credit. That West Indies still managed to post competitive totals without them would count among their takeaways from the series. On Saturday, both batsmen fell off successive deliveries in the 12th over, but West Indies recovered to add 93 more. Tumi Sekhukhune, the 19-year-old fast bowler playing in only her fourth T20I, finished as the most economical bowler, with figures of 4-0-19-1.South Africa were off the blocks quickly courtesy Lee’s aggression, her 24-ball 42 containing 10 fours. Her 37-run stand for the first wicket with Laura Woolvardt in just four overs set the tone. Even though they lost two quick wickets, the trigger at the start allowed them to ride momentum through the innings.Mignon du Preez, the former captain, played a calming knock in the middle, lifting the side from a slightly-wobbly 68 for 3. She made a 21-ball 25 to chip away at the target before Tryon and Marizanne Kapp fell within the space of six deliveries with the target within touching distance. Needing one to win off the last two balls, Saarah Smith collected the single off Shamilia Connell.

Ambati Rayudu has called time on his first-class career in order to focus on limited-overs cricket. Rayudu, who recently made a comeback into the Indian ODI side, communicated the decision to the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) on Saturday.Rayudu will continue to play international and domestic matches in the shorter versions. He had a successful outing in India’s recently concluded five-match ODI series against West Indies, hitting a century in the fourth ODI to cement his claim to what had been a fairly long search to fill the No. 4 spot in the Indian team.The 33-year-old Rayudu had begun his career with the HCA, making his first-class debut as a teenager in 2001. He played only the one game that season, but the next year he made an immediate impact with 210 and 159 not out against Andhra in just his third match. However, Rayudu had a rocky ride at Hyderabad with reports of differences with Arjun Yadav, and he soon moved to Andhra – one of the four teams he would eventually represent in domestic cricket.Yadav, son of former India player Shivlal Yadav, is the current Hyderabad coach.His stint with Andhra was also short, and he came back to Hyderabad before joining the now-defunct Indian Cricket League, thus being banned from participating in any BCCI-sanctioned tournaments. When the ICL dissolved and its players returned, Rayudu also returned to Hyderabad, but moved out a season later to Baroda. In 2016-17, he signed up with Vidarabha, although injuries prevented him from playing a single first-class match for the team though he did turn out in a few domestic limited-overs matches.Rayudu returned to Hyderabad before the 2017-18 season, but since making his debut for India in 2013, Rayudu has not played in a full Ranji season. Last year, he played only three matches for Hyderabad, scoring 278 runs at an average of 69.50 with a century and two fifties.He ends his first-class career with 6151 runs in 97 matches, at an average of 45.56 with 16 centuries. The 210 he scored in his third first-class match remains his highest score.

New Zealand have trounced West Indies 2-0, squeezed past England 1-0, snatched a series away from Pakistan 2-1 in the UAE, and now the series against Sri Lanka comes down to one Test in Christchurch. With the chance to go 4-0 in terms of Test series in the last year, this is the opportunity to move up one spot to third in the Test rankings – reward for long-term excellence in the format, despite a frustratingly light Test schedule.”[Four consecutive series] wins would mean a lot to the side, in terms of consistency of winning against some very good opposition,” batting coach Craig McMillan said. “Quite often, when you’re talking about international sport, and cricket in particular, you’re talking about consistency. We’re very proud of our home record, and that’s the challenge for us now. This is a one-off Test, and the series is on the line.”The victory in the UAE had been especially important – New Zealand becoming the first non-Asian side since 2013 to win a Test against Pakistan there, and the first non-Asian side ever to win a series. “We’ve been challenged in a lot of areas in a lot of different conditions,” McMillan said. “This side has always found a way. They’re just finding a way to win, to perform well, which is all you can ask as a coach – that you adapt, that you have good gameplans, and you go out and just worry about executing. The challenge for us is just to do that for another five days.”In order to stretch their winning record, however, New Zealand’s batsmen will have to negotiate what are likely to be very seam-friendly conditions, on one of the most lively decks in the country. The first session of the match shapes as a vital one, McMillan said.”You know what you’re going to get at Hagley – it has pace and bounce. It’s something as a side we’re always looking for. It suits the bowlers and suits the batsmen.”History says you win the toss and you generally bowl at Hagley. There’s been plenty of times when we’ve won the toss and we’ve had to bat first. It’s about getting your head around it and adapting to the conditions. Quite often, that first session is crucial – especially if the sun is out and there’s a bit of wind about, it can be a pretty good batting track later in the day. It will be challenging for that first session.”Whether New Zealand bat first or not, opener Jeet Raval’s performances may be under the microscope. Raval has been a frequent contributor to the New Zealand cause, but is yet to cross fifty in 10 innings this year. Twenty-five innings into his Test career, he’s also yet to make a triple-figure score.”One of the messages to Jeet is that he’s actually batting very well at the moment,” McMillan said. “He’s made some errors, and errors can be very fatal at the Test level. The key for him is trying to eliminate those. In terms of some of his decision-making up to the point he’s got out, that’s some of the best I’ve seen him bat. He’s got a lot of confidence from that.”

Ali Tareen, the son of one of the wealthiest businessmen and politicians in the country, has won the ownership rights of the sixth team in the Pakistan Super League. According to the PCB, he has won the ownership rights for seven years after significantly exceeding the reserve price of USD 5.21 million per year. Tareen’s bid of USD 6.35 million won out against a South African consortium, which bid USD 3.5 million for the rights. It isn’t yet established whether this is inclusive of 26% tax.Alamgir Tareen, the Pepsi franchise owner in South Punjab, is the biggest shareholder, while Ali Tareen and Taimur Malik, a Dubai-based lawyer from Multan, are the other major shareholders. Combined, they own over 80% of the sixth franchise, with Ali to take up a role as Director Operations.The ownership rights of Multan Sultans was terminated by the PCB this year after the Schön Group, a Dubai-based enterprise well-established in the real estate business, failed to pay their annual fee of USD 5.2 million. Tareen, after securing the rights, confirmed the team’s name would stay as Multan, though it remains unclear if it would still be called Multan Sultans.Ali Tareen’s financial clout emanates from his father Jehangir Tareen, has established JDW Group, a company that has overseen the development of one of the largest sugar mills in the country. Jehangir Tareen was a key political and financial backer of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, headed by current Prime Minister Imran Khan.Ali dabbled in politics last year, contesting a by-election in his native Lodhran, a key constituency in South Punjab, after his father was disqualified from holding political office. He was ultimately unsuccessful, and has since focused on promoting cricket in the province, and has championed the promotion of grassroots cricket in the country.The players selection process for the sixth team was completed last month in the draft process. The PCB-led selection team notably snapped up Steven Smith. They also retained Shoaib Malik, likely to be retained as captain, apart from purchasing Shahid Afridi in the Platinum category.Tareen is yet to take a decision on whether he would retain the management structure and personnel that have been at the franchise since last season, when they finished fifth and narrowly failed to make the knockout round.Separately, two petitions were filed in Lahore’s High Court, alleging the bidding for the Sixth Team was invalid. An investment group from Hong Kong Abelena Capital Limited with a local office in Lahore raised questions about the legality of the bidding process. Another group, Metac General Contracting Company, claimed they were the rightful owners, having finished second in the bidding last year to Schon Group. Both petitions were rejected.

Early breakthroughs made the difference for Hobart Hurricanes as they kept Brisbane Heat to 145 for 6 before D’Arcy Short and Caleb Jewell combined to knock the runs off in just 14.2 overs for a nine-wicket win. The result helped the Hurricanes consolidate their top spot on the Big Bash League points table, while the Heat remained stuck at seventh place.D’Arcy Short kept up his superb form•Getty Images

James Faulkner, David Moody and Jofra Archer – twice – struck within the Powerplay overs as the Heat slipped to 27 for 4 after being asked to bat. They recovered, with Alex Ross and Jimmy Peirson hitting half-centuries in a 109-run fifth-wicket stand. But just nine runs from the final two overs meant a below-par total from the Heat.The target was made to look even smaller than it was as Short and Jewell, who got together after Matthew Wade fell for a seven-ball 12, hit quick half-centuries in an unbroken 132-run stand. Short finished with 68 off 41 balls and Jewell 61 off 38.Archer makes an impact
Max Bryant must have enjoyed the sound of ball on bat as he hit Faulkner down the ground, seemingly over long-on. But Archer was there, sticking out his right hand, grabbing the ball, lobbing it back in as he went out, and then completing the dismissal.That was in the third over, the first wicket of the Heat innings, and soon Chris Lynn and Matt Renshaw were back alongside Bryant, both done in by Archer. Lynn could send the bowler only up to George Bailey at mid-off, and Renshaw was gone next ball, nicking Archer outside off to Wade behind the stumps.The Ross-Peirson fightback
If the scoreboard shows 27 for 4, and the four includes Lynn and Brendon McCullum, it means trouble. The Heat, who have struggled for the best part of the season, were in a spot of bother, but in Ross and Peirson had good men for the rebuilding job.The two batted together from the third ball of the sixth over – with little by way of a platform to build on – to the end of the 18th, adding 109 runs together. They opened up after the 12th over and took the Heat all the way to 136 before being separated, giving their bowlers a little something to play with.Another big one from Short
Short was right on top of the run-scorers’ chart for the season before the start of the game, and by the end of it, hehad taken a 142-run lead over fellow Hurricanes opener Wade, his latest outing taking his tally to 541 from 11 innings, at an average of 67.62 and a strike-rate of 141.25.Short has been nigh unstoppable this season, and is one of the primary reasons for the Hurricanes’ success. The Heat target wasn’t a big one anyway, and Short took off once Jewell had set the ball rolling at the other end, ending with his sixth half-century of the competition.”I am having fun with the batting,” he said afterwards. He certainly looks it.

Mohammad Amir, the Pakistan left-arm seamer, will return to Essex for part of the 2019 Vitality Blast. Amir, who was involved in Essex’s 2017 Championship success, has signed for eight games in the T20 competition.Amir is due to arrive in time for Essex’s first fixture in this year’s Blast, against Middlesex at Lord’s on July 18, before missing two games due to family commitments. He will then be available until mid-August before heading to the Caribbean Premier League.”I’m very excited to return to Chelmsford and re-join my Essex team mates,” Amir said. “I thoroughly enjoyed my time here in 2017 and I’m looking forward to playing my role in the club’s success this season.”Essex have already re-signed Australia legspinner, Adam Zampa, one of the few successes of last season, as well as bringing in T20 veteran Cameron Delport for 2019. Last year, they finished third from bottom in the South Group, winning just two of their 14 games.The club also failed to reach the Blast quarter-finals in 2017, but Amir was a success, taking 14 wickets in 13 games and with an economy of 6.77.”Mo is one of the most exciting bowling talents in the world and I’m ecstatic he’s going to be back with us,” Essex’s head coach, Anthony McGrath, said. “He has the ability to bowl at a fast pace whilst swinging the ball both ways and showed a real desire to come back to Chelmsford and be an Eagle again.”Everyone has seen how devastating he can be with the ball and the talent he has, so I think alongside our other overseas player, Adam Zampa, we’re going to have one of the most dangerous bowling attacks in the Vitality Blast this year.”

This is one of those Twenty20 days. You get a defendable target, you get your tactics right, you squeeze the opposition, but then Andre Russell comes around, hits four sixes and four fours in 19 balls, and without breaking a sweat makes a mockery of everything. The Eden Gardens faithful went into a frenzy as Russell completely destroyed the Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling to chase down 53 in the last three overs, the highest that has ever been successfully chased in the last three overs of an IPL match.This was only the third time – out of 14 – that Sunrisers had failed to defend a total of 180 or above in all IPL. This innings also spoiled a glorious comeback for David Warner – a year to the day his career and his life changed irrevocably because of the ball-tampering scandal. Warner scored 85 off 53 to take Sunrisers to that total on a difficult pitch.Sunrisers were at the wrong end of the toss – asked to bat first, they had to contend with a slowing-down pitch in the afternoon and then a skiddy one under the lights – but they did most things right in the defence. Except get Russell out, who scored 49 off 19, his impact well above anyone else in the game.Welcome back, WarnerWhen Dinesh Karthik won the toss and inserted Sunrisers, one of the most anticipated events of this IPL was upon us immediately. Warner was walking out to open with Jonny Bairstow for company. It turned out to be a long event. It went for close to 13 overs, brought Sunirsers 118 runs, and, as Warner said later, did so despite the pitch becoming difficult to score on.The early nerves went out as he picked two Piyush Chawla wrong’uns in the second over and picked boundaries. The threat of Sunil Narine was negated as the bowler tried to deny him room but ended up bowling too straight and conceding two boundaries in the sixth over. Kuldeep Yadav, too, couldn’t do much against Warner, who take a four and a six in the left-arm wristspinners’ first two overs. For most of it, IPL debutant Bairstow took the back seat, giving Warner the strike whenever he could, but in the 13th over he fell trying to hit Chawla out of the park.David Warner raises his bat to acknowledge the applause•BCCI

The slowdownAt this point, Sunrisers were set for a score close to 200, but two things happened. Prasidh Krishna, Lockie Ferguson and Russell found some swing with the old ball, and the pitch also slowed down. Sunrisers struggled to find any power in the final few overs except for Vijay Shankar, who struck 40 off 24 balls to keep Sunrisers par or just above. There was a period when 31 came off 25 during this spell of bowling. Russell walked away with two wickets, but the other two did an important job too.Knight Riders struggle at the topNeither Narine nor Kuldeep bowled out his quota. It was possibly because of the late swing Knight Riders had found, but in Narine’s case it was also an injured finger when fielding. Consequently he didn’t even open the innings. Out came Chris Lynn and Nitish Rana. It wasn’t a surprise to see Sunrisers deploy Shakib Al Hasan against Lynn. It wasn’t a surprise either that it brought about the dismissal within six balls.A game of cat and mouse followed. Robin Uthappa and Rana picked the bowlers to go after. Sunrisers delayed the introduction of Rashid because of his record against Uthappa. Uthappa delayed any big shots because he wanted to wait for Rashid. The big shot arrived, he mistimed, and Yusuf Pathan dropped him at long-off. Uthappa added a further 15 off 14, which actually had a negative impact on Knight Riders’ score, according to ESPNcricinfo’s Luck Index. By the time he got out, Knight Riders needed 95 off 50 balls. The win probability for Knight Riders at this point, according to ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats, was 28%.Rashid squeezes Knight Riders furtherIn the next few overs, apart from a floodlight failure, Rashid sparkled. He got rid of the settle Nitish Rana a ball after the floodlight break, and bowled out at the end of the 16th over with figures of 4-0-26-1. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the captain in Kane Williamson’s absence, had two overs left still, and there were 58 runs to defend. Two new batsmen were at the wicket. The likelihood of their winning was above 90% now.Russell rubbishes dataThe problem with data is, it is based on historical events. It doesn’t, and cannot, account for freak performances. Which is what makes sport sport. After an excellent 17th over from Bhuvneshwar, Knight Riders still needed 53 to win, a win probability of 3%. It would have needed one mis-hit from Russell to end the game whereas it would take about six sixes to seal it from here. Such a target had never been chased in the last three overs of an IPL match before, and only twice in the history of T20 cricket.Russell, though, took apart Siddarth Kaul’s last over – the 18th – to begin a turnaround. It is arguable perhaps that Bhuvneshwar could have used Shakib for this over and kept Kaul for the 20th, but it wouldn’t have been a bad call either way. Russell hit Kaul for two sixes and a four to make it 34 off the last two overs. The win probability still didn’t budge much because Bhuvneshwar still had an over left.Russell demolishes BhuvneshwarBhuvneshwar trusted his Plan A, the yorker, to start off with. He missed the first one a little, and Russell whacked him wide of long-on for four. The next one missed again, and this time Russell cleared midwicket comfortably. The next ball was a near perfect yorker, but Russell still found enough power to beat mid-off for four runs. This was a sensational hit. This can demoralise any bowler. The icing was applied when he reached out to a wide attempted yorker, and eased it over extra cover for six. He didn’t even look up to see where it was going. He knew he had done it. Within an over win probability had gone from 5% to over 50%; this is how fast T20 games change.Shakib bowled the last over with 12 to defend, but youngster Shubman Gill took care of him with two sixes to end the match with two balls to spare.

Jamie Overton, Somerset’s highly-rated fast bowler, has joined Northamptonshire on a one-month loan deal, in a bid to guarantee him first-team action while he continues his recovery from a back injury.Though Overton has played a role in Somerset’s march to the Royal London Cup final on May 25 – for which he will remain available – the club feel that cannot guarantee him selection in four-day cricket, which resumes in earnest this week with a run of fixtures through to mid-July.And, with Somerset currently top of the table and preparing for a marquee clash against the reigning champions, Surrey, at Taunton this week, they’ve decided that the best option is to offer Overton a chance to get overs under his belt elsewhere, rather than bring him back to fitness in their own Championship campaign.”Since working his way back from an early season injury, Jamie has recently and successfully returned to First XI action in the Royal London One-Day Cup,” said Somerset’s director of cricket, Andy Hurry.”We’ve made an impressive start to this year’s County Championship, and whilst Jamie is certainly in contention for selection, we can’t guarantee him a starting place at present.”Therefore, we feel that both he and the club would benefit from him playing competitive First XI red-ball cricket.”The arrangement will run from May 14 to June 13, and means that Overton will be available for Northamptonshire’s County Championship matches against Lancashire, Sussex, Glamorgan and Durham.”The idea of having Jamie available to us is really exciting,” said David Ripley, Northants’ head coach. “He’s a Lions bowler who’s gone through the ranks very quickly and brings real pace which is something that we haven’t perhaps got in our natural group.”We’re very grateful to Somerset who are obviously playing some good cricket themselves at the moment and have a good player who they can’t get into the eleven. We’re more than happy to give him that opportunity with us.”Hurry added: “As I’ve stated previously, it’s important to us as a club to ensure that we are providing opportunities that support our player’s needs whilst considering our club’s mid-term needs.”The terms of this loan agreement will enable Jamie to be available for selection for the Royal London One-Day Cup final and return to Somerset if we incur an injury to one of our seamers.”Overton, who could yet be in contention for a Test call-up this summer, with the Ashes looming in August, recognised the value of his time away from his home club.”Obviously, I’m hungry to be playing First XI cricket and currently opportunities are limited,” he said. “When the opportunity to play First XI Championship cricket at Northants came about, I felt it was a great chance for me to show what I can do. After this loan period I’ll return to Taunton and I look forward to contributing to winning games for Somerset.”He is the second Somerset player to make a loan move this season, after Dom Bess – their spin understudy to Jack Leach – was sent to Headingley for a month’s loan with Yorkshire.

Big picture

This is arguably the biggest rivalry in the history of the tournament – the IPL’s . Mumbai Indians ended Chennai Super Kings’ three-match winning streak earlier this month. And while Super Kings are yet to lose a home game this season, the last team to beat them at Chepauk were Mumbai, in IPL 2015, breaking a two-year streak. Super Kings have a 44% win record against Mumbai, while it’s 60% or above against every other team. Since 2015, Mumbai have won five of the seven meetings between the two teams.All this sets up a mouth-watering contest, as Mumbai face table-toppers Super Kings at a crucial stage in the tournament.

Form guide

Chennai Super Kings: Beat Sunrisers by six wickets, lost to RCB by one run, lost to Sunrisers by six wickets
Mumbai Indians: Lost to Royals by five wickets, beat Capitals by 40 runs, beat RCB by five wickets

While Super Kings have all but sealed their spot in the playoffs, Mumbai are looking to cement their position with the race heating up. They’re coming into the game following a five-day break after their loss to Rajasthan Royals. A win here will lift them to second, while a loss might land them in trouble, leaving their playoff hopes dependent on other closely-competing teams’ results.Super Kings went into their last game, against Sunrisers Hyderabad, facing questions over whether their batting was too dependent on MS Dhoni. They answered some of them, with Shane Watson and Suresh Raina stepping up to lead the chase of 175, and Dhoni didn’t even come out to bat. There are, however, concerns surrounding Ambati Rayudu and Kedar Jadhav, who have been in middling form this season. Rohit Sharma, meanwhile, has struggled to convert starts, but his form does not seem to be that big a concern yet for Mumbai, who have enviable batting depth. After producing slow turners in the first half of the tournament, a batting-friendly track was laid out at MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday, which is good news for the visiting team. Hardik Pandya’s late assault ended Super Kings’ last major unbeaten home streak in 2015. Can Mumbai take down Chennai in their Chepauk fortress yet again?

In the news

South Africa fast bowler Beuran Hendricks, who was named as the injured Alzarri Joseph’s replacement, has linked up with the Mumbai side in Chennai.

Likely XIs

Chennai Super Kings: 1 Faf du Plessis, 2 Shane Watson, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Kedar Jadhav, 5 Ambati Rayudu, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Dwayne Bravo, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Harbhajan Singh, 11 Imran TahirMumbai Indians: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Ishan Kishan, 4 Kieron Pollard, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Krunal Pandya, 7 Suryakumar Yadav, 8 Rahul Chahar, 9 Jason Behrendorff, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Lasith Malinga

Previous meeting

Mumbai’s seamers razed through a sloppy Super Kings line-up when the teams met at the Wankhede earlier this month.

Strategy punt

• Quinton de Kock has been a force for Mumbai at the top of the order, having made 378 runs in ten games. He’s coming into this match with four consecutive 30-plus scores, including two fifties. But this year, he has managed only 114 off 99 balls against spin while being dismissed four times in eight innings. In the IPL since 2015, de Kock has lost his wicket 13 times in 25 innings to spinners. Super Kings could introduce spin early to counter the de Kock threat. Harbhajan Singh, who has had plenty of Powerplay success against left-handers, will be the obvious choice for this match-up.
• Suryakumar Yadav might be one of Mumbai’s biggest assets, but this season he hasn’t really taken off, particularly struggling in the middle overs against spin. In nine innings, he’s lost his wicket three times to spinners and has scored just 107 off the 91 balls he’s faced from them. A possible fix for this could be Mumbai sending in Ishan Kishan or Kieron Pollard earlier. Kishan has been aggressive against spinners, striking at 163.1 since 2018 in the IPL, while Pollard’s best scores (83 v Kings XI and 46 not out v Sunrisers) this season have come when he’s walked out within the first 12 overs of the innings.

Stats that matter

• Hardik has an average of 42 in the death overs and has been striking at 207.9 in this phase in nine innings.
• Raina needs one more fifty to bring up 50 fifties in T20s and one more catch to get to 100 catches in the IPL.
• Dhoni is one big hit away from 200 sixes for Chennai Super Kings.