Its the El Clasico once again as Chennai Super Kings will take on Mumbai Indians for the second time in the 2023 edition of the IPL and in a rather crunch game, with the points table tantalizingly poised after the first 48 matches of the tournament.
The Super Kings won the encounter when these two teams met the last time at Wankhede Stadium nearly a month ago, however, the Men in Yellow are witnessing a slump in form as they are yet to win a game in the last three matches they played. CSK lost to Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings and their last game was washed out against the Lucknow Super Giants.
On the other hand, Mumbai Indians look all set to continue the trend of teams losing the first match, winning the reverse fixture having chased down two 210-plus totals in their last game. Mumbai’s bowling might not be working that great as the bowlers are proving to be expensive, however, their monstrous batting line-up looks like it could chase anything. However, MI’s this very plan could be botched up by rain in Chennai on Saturday, May 6.
CSK vs MI: El Clasico of IPL
CSK vs MI, also known as El Clásico of the IPL, the two teams have played each other 35 times in IPL and 2 times in CLT20 which is the most number of times any two IPL teams have faced off each other, with the Mumbai Indians having more victories (21).
They are the two most successful teams in the league winning a combined 9 titles out of the 15 IPL seasons. 2022 was the first season when neither side advanced to the play-off stage.
Now to understand why the MI vs CSK game is referred to as the El Clasico of IPL, let’s take a stroll in Spanish football.
The El Clasico is generally referred to as the biggest football rivalry in the world that emerged from Spain – FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid, world’s biggest football clubs. Earlier it was referred to by this time in the Spanish competitions but now every game between the two clubs is ‘El Clasico.’
It is one of the biggest games on the footballing calendar as fans, experts and football fanatics, wait for the whole year to see the two giants in action. The history of the rivalry, however, goes beyond the sporting spectrum and has its roots in the political position the two clubs have.
When it comes to the top two cricket clubs in India, one can immediately name Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. A match between these two super heavy weights is called El Clasico of IPL. The reason behind the thinking is simple: they hold most titles in the Indian Premier League.
The rivalry began between Mumbai and Chennai when the two teams bought the two biggest names in Indian cricket then – Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni respectively.
Dhoni went on to become the only captain in history to win all three ICC titles and if not then, Tendulkar became the God of Cricket in India.
The highest run scorer from this fixture is Suresh Raina of Chennai Super Kings with 736 runs in 32 matches against Mumbai Indians, closely followed by Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma with 711 runs in 30 outings.
El Clasico of IPL: CSK vs MI Head to Head Record
| Team | Match | Wins | Loss |
| Chennai Super Kings | 36 | 16 | 20 |
| Mumbai Indians | 36 | 20 | 16 |
CSK vs MI Head to Head Record at Chepauk (Chennai)
| Team | Matches | Wins | Loss |
| Chennai Super Kings | 8 | 3 | 5 |
| Mumbai Indians | 8 | 5 | 3 |
CSK vs MI Head to Head Record at Wankhede (Mumbai)
| Team | Matches | Wins | Loss |
| Chennai Super Kings | 9 | 3 | 6 |
| Mumbai Indians | 9 | 6 | 3 |
CSK vs MI Head to Head Record in IPL Finals
| Team | Matches | Wins | Loss |
| Chennai Super Kings | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Mumbai Indians | 3 | 2 | 1 |
MI, CSK’s performance in the league so far
The four-time champions, who had a disappointing IPL 2022 season before regaining their form this year, have lost some of the momentum going into the key match against rival Mumbai Indians.
Two of their previous three games have ended in defeat for MS Dhoni’s team, with their most recent match against the Lucknow Super Giants being abandoned owing to inclement weather. They currently sit at the third place in the standings.
Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, have developed a great head of steam with two straight run chases over 200 runs against the Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals.
Despite Rohit Sharma’s sluggish batting performance, the Mumbai-based team has enough of runs and will be a serious threat to Chennai’s inexperienced bowling attack, especially the pacers. They sit at the sixth place in the IPL 2023 Points table with 10 points from nine games.
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