CSK vs MI: Enticing clash on the cards between IPL’s most successful outfits
Deepak Chahar and Mitchell Santner, both formerly with the Super Kings, were acquired by Mumbai in December and their familiarity with the conditions should stand their new team in good stead.;
Mumbai Indians players on a practice session at Chepauk ahead of their match against Chennai Super Kings
CHENNAI: The Vladimirs and Erdogans of Chennai will have to keep waiting indefinitely to even get a fleeting glimpse of their beloved Godot that is Jasprit Bumrah in an IPL match at Chepauk with the redoubtable pacer not taking any part in Sunday’s franchise cricket equivalent of 'El Clasico'.
The last time the current World Test player of the year turned out for Mumbai Indians in Chennai was in 2019 when the world was blissfully unaware of the once-in-a-century pandemic that was stealthily readying itself like an apex predator to pounce on its unsuspecting victims, not knowing how to guard themselves, in much the same way that the bashful Ahmedabadi inflicts on a cricket field with clueless batters dropping like flies.
After an incalculable loss of life and property, scientists the world over had succeeded in inventing vaccines to keep the human race alive and kicking and fighting interminably, the last of which would do a leopard immensely proud vis-a-vis its spots, whereas acclaimed batters, accompanied by highly paid coaches and support staff armed with laptops and other minute details of the menace that Bumrah can cause, haven't yet gotten anywhere close to figuring out a remedy.
The knowledgeable Chepauk crowd, and this is said with the utmost earnestness despite it being repeated for the umpteenth time, will undoubtedly feel dejected at once again having to miss out on watching an expert craftsman going about his task with the same diligence and sobriety that a renowned scientist would wear on his sleeve in pursuit of a pathbreaking invention.
How the aficionados would’ve dearly loved to feast their collective pair of eyes on Bumrah even if it came at the expense of their own team becoming the latest to fall prey to his guile.
Shifting our attention to other equally important matters, both Super Kings and Mumbai, winners off five IPLs each, will be itching to redeem themselves following their failure to make it to the playoffs last season.
In the case of Mumbai, it will be desperate to take to the field wearing its championship-winning robes what with them having gathered considerable amount of dust, having last won the trophy in 2020 when both Nadal and Federer were hot on each other's heels in their quest for ending up with most Slams and Messi was unsure of whether he was ever going to win a Fifa World Cup.
Deepak Chahar and Mitchell Santner, both formerly with the Super Kings, were acquired by Mumbai in December and their familiarity with the conditions should stand their new team in good stead.
Having retired from international T20s following the World Cup glory last June, former captain Rohit Sharma may not have to contend with as much pressure and will look to get his side off to rousing starts, in keeping with his batting pattern in ODIs lately that has greatly rejuvenated the side, besides fetching him plaudits for his refreshingly selfless attitude.
Trent Boult also makes a return to his 'old' abode following a four-year hiatus and will be raring to go against an opponent that has unfailingly yielded him a rich harvest in the past.
As for the host, it has its own emotional and jovial reunion to look forward to with the now-retired former India spinner R Ashwin making a comeback after nearly a decade along with his Tamil Nadu team-mate Vijay Shankar.
The sight of MS Dhoni keeping wicket to Ashwin will drown the CSK fans in a tsunami of nostalgia and they will be eager to lap up whatever comes their way for no one knows how much longer these two legends will be around to enthrall them.