What The Chennai Super Kings play their first away fixture of Pepsi IPL 2015 when they visit the Mumbai Indians. CSK have two wins from two outings and are sitting pretty at second place while the Mumbai Indians are yet to gather their first points of the season despite playing three matches. CSK will take the field after nearly a week, and coach Stephen Fleming admitted that playing the first two matches at home and having a bit of a break after those two matches was an ideal start to the campaign. He also expressed that he was happy with the position his team was in after the two matches. “Whenever you have the first couple of games at home and with a bit of time, you need to make the most of that. We did that. We scrapped across the line in one and played very well in the other.” MI captain Rohit Sharma admitted that his team were yet to find the right combination and the blocks were still falling in place. Their problems have been compounded by the injury to Aaron Finch which will mean MI will field yet another opening combination. MI need to address problems right at the top; they have had opening partnerships of 8, 0 & 27 in the three matches – and the captain admitted that his team needed to bat better in the first six overs. When 17 April 2015, 8p.m. IST Where Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai The Protagonists In the absence of the experienced Aaron Finch, the onus shifts onto the shoulders of captain Rohit Sharma to score the bulk of the runs. In Kieron Pollard and Corey Anderson, MI have two batsmen who can blow away the opposition – but over a short period of time. Rohit – who has the temperament to bat through the innings and the talent to shift gears seamlessly – needs to bat in the top three so he gives himself the chance to face majority of the overs. Look out for Brendon McCullum in the Chennai Super Kings lineup. The Kiwi batsman comes into this match with the confidence of scoring a century in the previous match and will be looking to carry that forward. If he stays at the crease for a period of ten overs, one can be sure he would have caused plenty of damage and dented the bowler’s confidence significantly. Suresh Raina, the most-capped player in the IPL, has had a quiet tournament so far, and he will be keen to get amongst the runs. Contests to look-forward to Brendon McCullum scored a hundred in his previous outing and has been difficult to stop in recent times. How he shapes up against MI’s Lasith Malinga and the wily off-spinner Harbhajan Singh will go a long way in deciding which may the match swings. The one other contest that promises to be interesting is between the off-spinners on either side. CSK’s R Ashwin has had two very good outings – picking up a wicket and keeping the runs down on both occasions, while Harbhajan Singh, who missed the previous match because of an injury, had a blast all-round when he last took the field against Kings XI Punjab. Previous Meetings

The head to head between the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings stands at nine wins apiece. However, CSK defeated MI in all the three contests between the two teams in Pepsi IPL 2014 – twice in the league stage and then in the Eliminator. Trivia No team has defeated the Chennai Super Kings more often than MI. Among Indian venues where they have played more than one match, the Chennai Super Kings have the poorest record at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai; they’ve played eight matches at the venue, winning three and losing five. What Next The Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings will be seen in action next on April 19. MI will be south-bound for the first time in Pepsi IPL 2015 when they visit Bengaluru for their away tie against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. CSK will meanwhile take a short flight to Ahmedabad for their next fixture; they clash with the Rajasthan Royals in the 4pm fixture.