In Twenty20 cricket, teams tend to chase after winning the toss. But at times, pitch and conditions also influence a captain's decision. In case of Sunday's final between the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings, weather too could play a role. With rain threat looming large, team batting second would have the advantage of knowing exactly how to pace the run-chase. FOLLOW| MI vs CSK, IPL final Live Score Chennai has won the toss in 12 out of 16 matches this edition of the Indian Premier League, bowling first on nine occasions and batting thrice. The M.S. Dhoni-led side has won seven times after winning the toss and three times after being on the wrong side of the coin toss. Chennai has also lost five matches after Dhoni won the toss. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma hasn't quite had a similar run of luck. Mumbai has won only seven tosses in 15 matches — opting to bat twice and bowling in five games. In IPL 2019, Mumbai has won five matches after winning the toss and five after losing the toss. It has lost twice after winning the toss.<doc-sep>MS Dhoni became the keeper with most dismissals in IPL history. (Source: IPL) MS Dhoni became the keeper with most dismissals in IPL history. (Source: IPL) MS Dhoni surpassed Kolkata Knight Riders’ Dinesh Karthik for most wicketkeeping dismissals in IPL history following the catches of Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma in the IPL 2019 final on Sunday. Dhoni now has 132 dismissals to his name and could well add to the tally at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad. Dhoni has 94 catches and 38 stumpings to his name in IPL history. The veteran’s best in an IPL fixture is four dismissals – three catches and a stumping. In the fifth over of Mumbai’s inning, a short ball by Shardul Thakur gave Dhoni the opportunity to level Karthik. The bouncer was delivered right into De Kock’s body, he went for the pull and the top edge carried to Dhoni. Next over, Dhoni went one better with Rohit walking back to the dugout. Deepak Chahar was the bowler this time and the knuckle ball, delivered at 119.8 kmph, had Rohit deceived. The MI skipper got a healthy edge to it and Dhoni dove forward to pick it up. The top-10 list is comprised of Robin Uthappa, Parthiv Patel, Naman Ojha, Wriddhiman Saha, Adam Gilchrist, Kumar Sangakkara, Rishabh Pant and Quinton de Kock. Most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in IPL:<doc-sep>Australia’s former star batsman Matthew Hayden has used a variety of superlatives to describe Mahendra Singh Dhoni, calling him an “era of cricket” and “almost like a leader of a nation”. The big-hitting ex-opener eulogised the two-time World Cup winning skipper hours ahead of the IPL final between Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, both eyeing a record fourth title. “You know Dhoni, he is not just a player, he is an era of cricket. In many ways, I think MS is like the captain of the gully cricket team, he is one of us, he will do anything,” Hayden said on Star Sports’ special programme for CSK -- ‘The Super Kings Show’. Click Here for Live Score and Updates - MI vs CSK Live Score The Australian added, “You see how he warms up, he bowls his leg spinners, he catches, he asks players and people around the squad on how they are doing and he is so relaxed, I think we can all relate to him because we all have busy lives working around with friends and families and that’s a big commitment. “So, someone like that at the helm will make you feel calm, will make you feel relaxed and that’s why Thala Dhoni that word ‘Thala’, obviously meaning the leader of Chennai, but you it’s almost like leader of a nation.” Both Hayden and Dhoni had faced off while representing their respective national teams, with the Australian playing under the seasoned keeper-batsman at CSK. With an average of 103.5, the Chennai skipper is so far the leading run-scorer for his side after accumulating 414 runs from 11 innings in the ongoing Indian Premier League. His side was second in the league points-table with nine wins from 14 games. CSK lost to Mumbai Indians in the first Qualifier at home but later defeated Delhi Capitals by six wickets in the second qualifier to enter their eighth IPL final.<doc-sep>
The dust has finally settled and after sprinting, losing breath and trying to scramble to the finishing line, two sides in Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians are quite fittingly in the final showdown. You don’t have to look beyond Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians to realize that monotony can be an undesired side-effect of consistency. In a league that was once expanded to accommodate 10 teams, these two teams are so far ahead of the pack that it borders on the boring now. Click Here for Live Score and Updates - IPL Final MI vs CSK Live Score Hence, when Faf du Plessis said after the win against Delhi Capitals that CSK know how to react to pressure scenarios and how they just know how to win knockout clashes, it made all the sense. However, this season the story has been different for Dhoni’s brigade against the Mumbai Indians - a side which has beaten them thrice on the bounce. So will the law of averages finally catch up, or will Mumbai’s juggernaut roll on and go all the way? MS Dhoni does not believe in changes just for the sake of tweaks, he could well go ahead and play the same side, but at the same time, he could be tempted to make a strategic move. Shardul Thakur played in the previous match, but was needed to bowl only a solitary over. Will Dhoni bring in a batsman instead of Thakur remains to be seen. Murali Vijay who looked good in the first qualifier could well make a comeback in this match to bolster the middle-order. Predicted XI of CSK for the match against Mumbai Indians: Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar