It’s Matchday 2 in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, and we’re set for the marquee clash of any IPL season as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) host Mumbai Indians (MI) on Sunday night. This is a home game for the CSK and will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians Match Preview
The CSK vs MI rivalry is India’s answer to El Clásico or the North-West Derby between Liverpool and Manchester United. This fixture is packed with historic encounters that have become instant classics. But more than that, it’s a marquee IPL match that garners attention from all corners of the cricketing world, as CSK and MI are the most successful teams in IPL history, with both winning five titles to date.
So if any of these two teams is looking to lay the marker down for the rest of the tournament, then this is a perfect opportunity to do that. Winning this first clash can set the tempo and push the team in the right direction.
But for Mumbai Indians, this clash carries even more stakes considering what happened last season. The five-time champions finished rock bottom last season, winning only four times in 14 matches. This is not what is expected from a franchise that is so used to winning. The pressure would be even more on Hardik Pandya and Co, after Mumbai Indians Women won the WPL trophy. In fact, this is a make-or-break season for Hardik Pandya as another disappointing season could bring an immature end to his MI journey.
For Chennai Super Kings, the first aim would be to finish in top four. They were in control of their destiny last season as well, but a defeat in the last match of IPL 2024 season against Royal Challengers Bangalore ended their season in a heartbreak. But it’s history now, and the team would be looking to leave that behind and start off the IPL 2025 season with a win against their biggest and fiercest rival.
CHE vs MI: Match Details
Date: Sunday, March 23, 2025
Time: 07:30 PM IST
Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium
CHE vs MI Dream11 Prediction: Pitch Report and Weather Conditions
Pitch Report: Though MA Chidambaram Stadium is known for spin-friendly conditions, it was a different story during the IPL 2024 season when teams scored above 200 runs for fun. In fact, the lowest score in IPL 2024 at this venue was 162/7, made by CSK against Punjab Kings. So expect more or less the same this season as well. Any score around 160-170 runs can be considered a below-par total at this venue.
Dream11 Combination: Avoid picking MS Dhoni in small league teams but he can be a good choice in Grand League teams considering his role is to whack the balls in the last few overs.
Weather Report: There’s a 5% chance of rain in Chennai on Sunday, but expect a full match in any case. The biggest issue is the temperature, but since it’s an evening game, there should be some respite for the players.
CSK vs MI Dream11: Team News
Chennai Super Kings Team News-
- Ruturaj Gaikwad will continue to lead Chennai Super Kings. He was named as a captain of CSK before the start of IPL 2024 season.
- CSK have made a whole lot of changes to their roster for this season.
- Fan-favorite Ravichandran Ashwin has returned to the team after CSK bought the star spinner at IPL mega auction.
- Sam Curran will also be donning the famous yellow shirt of CSK. He played for Chennai for two seasons, in 2020 and 2021, winning the title in his second year with his franchise.
- Rahul Tripathi, Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Hooda and Jamie Overton are some of the players worth keeping an eye on this season.
- Chennai Super Kings Full Squads: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Matheesha Pathirana, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Rachin Ravindra, Ravichandran Ashwin, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmad, Vijay Shankar, Sam Curran, Shaik Rasheed, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary, Deepak Hooda, Gurjapneet Singh, Nathan Ellis, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Jamie Overton, Shreyas Gopal, Vansh Bedi, Andre Siddarth
Mumbai Indians Team News-
- Hardik Pandya is going to lead Mumbai Indians this season. But the star all-rounder will miss the opening game for MI due to a slow-over rate ban which will come into effect in this game.
- That means, Suryakumar Yadav will lead the team in Pandya’s absence.
- The Indian all-rounder returned to the team last season as captain, but had a season to forget as MI finished rock-bottom.
- Mumbai managed to keep hold of their crux before the start of IPL mega auction in December las year.
- The five-time champions were selective during the bidding phase, going only for players they believed would add quality to the roster.
- The biggest issue for Mumbai going into the season is the health of Jasprit Bumrah. The Indian superstar bowler is likely to miss some games at the start of this season.
- Mumbai Indians Full Squad: Hardik Pandya (c), Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Trent Boult, Naman Dhir, Robin Minz, Karn Sharma, Ryan Rickelton, Deepak Chahar, Allah Ghazanfar, Will Jacks, Ashwani Kumar, Mitchell Santner, Reece Topley, Shrijith Krishnan, Raj Angad Bawa, Satyanarayana Raju, Bevon Jacobs, Arjun Tendulkar, Lizaad Williams, Vignesh Puthur
CSK vs MI Dream11 Prediction: Expected Playing 11
Chennai Super Kings Expected Playing 11
- Ruturaj Gaikwad (C)
- Rachin Ravindra
- Rahul Tripathi
- Shivam Dube
- Sam Curran
- Ravindra Jadeja
- MS Dhoni (WK)
- Ravichandran Ashwin
- Noor Ahmad
- Matheesha Pathirana
- Khaleel Ahmed
Impact Player: Deepak Hooda
Mumbai Indians Expected Playing 11
- Rohit Sharma
- Ryan Rickelton
- Tilak Varma
- Suryakumar Yadav
- Naman Dhir
- Corbin Bosch
- Mitchell Santner
- Satyanarayana Raju
- Karn Sharma
- Deepak Chahar
- Trent Boult
Impact Player: Will Jacks
CHE vs MI Dream11 Top Fantasy Picks
- Rohit Sharma: Rohit Sharma remains a match-winner. He is someone who can change the game in a matter of few overs, With the burden of captaincy gone, he can play even with more freedoms.
- Matheesha Pathirana: Modern day’s Lasith Malinga. His stature is growing with each match. In this game, he could be the absolute game changer as his unique bowling style gives him some degree of edge over other bowlers. His record in IPL is also too good to ignore.
- Rachin Ravindra: New Zealand star is another player who is expected to play a big role for CSK this season. He is in terrific form and should be considered either as a captain or vice-captain in MI vs CSK Dream11 teams.
- Sam Curran: England all-rounder will be looking at the upcoming IPL 2025 season as a perfect platform to remind everyone that he is still amongst the very best when it comes to white-ball cricket. He has been on the fringes of England cricket for sometime now. But we all know his quality and how he can impact any match as a bowler and as a batter.
- Ruturaj Gaikwad: CSK captain racked up 583 runs in IPL 2024. The 28-year-old will be eying another high-scoring season. To be honest, he is likely to lead the scoring charts for his team this season as well.
- Trent Boult: The toe-crusher is back in the Mumbai Indians team. He is surely a player who lets the ball do the talking. His new-ball spell often spells doom for the opponent.
CSK vs MI Dream11 Fantasy Team
Captain/Vice-Captain options: Suryakumar Yadav, Rachin Ravindra, Ravindra Jadeja, Matheesha Pathirana, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sam Curran
