Chennai Super Kings will face Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2019 final on Sunday, as both the teams look to become the first team in history win four IPL titles.
In what will be a fitting end to VIVO IPL 2019, the two most successful sides in the league, and the two teams who finished first and second in the standings this season, will compete in the Grand Finale; the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings will vie for a fourth IPL title when they clash on Sunday evening.
Mumbai Indians, who topped the table with 9 wins, sailed straight to the Final after winning Qualifier 1. MI has the wood over CSK having defeated them thrice this season – including in Qualifier 1. The one thing MI should be conscious about is they haven’t been able to extend their winning streak beyond three matches this season.
MI have won their last three matches and have an opportunity to set that record straight. While teams generally look rusty coming out of a break, MI – who have had a four-day break since qualifying for the Final – have actually hit the ground running every time they’ve returned; they’ve won winning each of their five matches when they’ve come out of a break.
The Super Kings had a poor second half in the league season; they lost several matches and lacked momentum heading into the playoffs, and were beaten in Qualifier 1. But in a knockout scenario – in Qualifier 2, the experienced players put their hands up and took the team to the team’s eighth IPL Final.
https://twitter.com/IPL/status/1126859227341807616
CSK’s bowling attack carried the team to the playoffs, and once again set the team up to progress to the title clash. Now, with the championship at stake, they need both – batting and bowling – departments to fire.
MI won their maiden IPL title in 2013 and added to their tally in 2015 and 2017. Can they make it a fourth odd-year-win in a row? Or will MS Dhoni’s ‘dad’s army’ cause an upset and clinch a fourth title?
https://twitter.com/IPL/status/1126906649610842112
Previous Match XIs:
Mumbai Indians:Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Chahar, JaspritBumrah, Lasith Malinga.
Chennai Super Kings:Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Ambati Rayudu, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar.
Head to Head in Indian Premier League
Overall: Matches – 27, Mumbai Indians – 16, Chennai Super Kings – 11.
Since 2015: Matches – 9, Mumbai Indians – 7, Chennai Super Kings – 2.
In Finals: Matches – 3, Mumbai Indians – 2, Chennai Super Kings – 1.
Good Signs:
8 of the 11 previous Finals have been won by the team that won the toss.
If Imran Tahir makes the Chennai Super Kings XI, he will be the first 40-year old to compete in an IPL Final.
Imran Tahir needs two more wickets to become only the second spinner in IPL history to bag the Purple Cap; the only spinner to finish as the season’s highest wicket-taker was Pragyan Ojha, back in 2010.
What Next:
The winner of this match will be crowned champions of VIVO IPL 2019; they will receive the IPL trophy and a winner’s purse of INR 20 Crore. The loser of this match will take home a cheque of INR 12.5 crore.
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