Victorious Mumbai skipper, Rohit Sharma, is all smiles. Says that throughout the tournament, Mumbai played good cricket which is the reason they finished on top. Stresses that they got some momentum at the start in the first half and when that was achieved, all plans started falling into place. Praises each and every player of the 25-man squad for chipping in at some point of time. Believes that Mumbai's bowling was excellent in this game with the bowlers putting their hand up post the Powerplay and bringing the team back in the match. Details that they backed themselves to bowl in any conditions and any situation and which is why they could bounce back in this match. Praises Lasith Malinga for coming back so well in that last over, in spite of going for over 40 runs in the first 3. Admits that at one stage, he wanted to go to Hardik Pandya for that final over but he went for experience. On his own captaincy skills, Rohit humbly says that whatever he is, it is because of the entire team.<doc-sep>After 50 days of exciting and entertaining cricket action, its now time for the final thriller. Defending champions Chennai Super Kings are ready to face Mumbai Indians at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad for IPL 2019 trophy. With 3 IPL titles each, both teams are considered to be the most successful franchises in the tournament. Previously, the two teams have faced each other 3 times this season with Mumbai Indians defeating Chennai Super Kings every time. Given CSK’s earlier performances against MI, they would certainly be under pressure in the finals. But it’s the captain cool, MS Dhoni who holds the key and can lead his side to their 4th IPL championship. For this reason, major online betting sites still consider Chennai Super Kings as the favorites for the final game. Pitch: Hyderabad’s wicket is considered good for batting, so we can expect a high scoring match. With low humidity and no rain forecast, it would be a great day for cricket. Mumbai Indians Preview: The Mumbai Indians squad started their campaign slowly but finished the league stage at the top of the IPL Points Table. The players are in full form with Quinton de Kock, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav providing strength to the top order. Ishan Kishan, who has been included in the team in the last two games, looks in good touch. The Pandya brothers are in superb form, both with the bat and with the bowl. Spinner Rahul Chahar has been magical and there is no reason to doubt Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga in death overs. The management might look to replace Jayant Yadav with pacer Mitchell McClenaghan. Overall, the Mumbai Indians side looks much stronger than their opponent, Chennai Super Kings. Probable XI: Quinton de Kock, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Rahul Chahar, Mitchell McClenaghan, Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah Chennai Super Kings Preview: As we have seen throughout the tournament, Chennai Super Kings don’t believe in making big changes to their squad. But given Hyderabad’s pitch, they might want to go with an extra batsman in form of Murali Vijay. Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis looked good in the ‘Qualifier 2‘, and their opening partnership would be important for the team. Both Raina and Rayudu had an on and off-season so far, but they need to push up their game for the finals. Dhoni’s form has been phenomenal and the franchise would want him to finish the game for the team. Harbhajan Singh and Imran Tahir have been outstanding and would likely be the game changers of the match. Probable XI: Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar<doc-sep>Fifties from Chennai Super Kings openers Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson helped the three-times winners beat Delhi Capitals by six wickets in a playoff on Friday and set up an Indian Premier League (IPL) final against Mumbai Indians. BENGALURU - Fifties from Chennai Super Kings openers Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson helped the three-times winners beat Delhi Capitals by six wickets in a playoff on Friday and set up an Indian Premier League (IPL) final against Mumbai Indians. Having restricted Delhi to a below-par 147 for nine, Chennai cruised home with an over to spare in Visakhapatnam, with South Africa skipper Du Plessis and Australian veteran Watson making identical scores of 50. Chennai’s clash with Mumbai on Sunday will be a rematch of the first playoff, which Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai side won. Chennai also lost both their league games to Mumbai this season. Watson turned the aggressor after a sedate start, smashing four sixes and three fours in his 32-ball knock while Du Plessis scored at a brisk rate to lay the platform for an easy chase. “The way Faf got going, I could take my time getting into rhythm. It took me a little while and Faf batted beautifully, to be able to take on the bowlers at that stage,” Watson said. “I could take a couple more balls to find my feet. That’s the beauty of cricket, it’s such a team game, you do rely on your team mates at certain moments in time.” Both players perished immediately after reaching their half-centuries, but the steady Ambati Rayudu ensured there was no late drama with an unbeaten 20 to help Chennai reach their second straight final. Asked to bat first, Delhi’s batsmen struggled to convert their good starts before Rishabh Pant, the hero of their playoff victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday, took charge with a 25-ball 38 that included a six and two fours. Delhi found themselves in trouble at 125 for eight when the left-hander perished but they scored 22 runs off the last eight balls to give themselves a fighting chance in the contest. Pace bowlers Deepak Chahar and Dwayne Bravo as well as the spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Harbhajan Singh kept the Delhi batsmen on a tight leash during the middle overs and were rewarded with two wickets each.<doc-sep>Despite his Mumbai Indians side having the upper hand over Chennai Super Kings throughout the 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign, skipper Rohit Sharma is not looking back at the past ahead of Sunday’s final at Hyderabad. The two most successful franchises in IPL history lock horns in the final with a record fourth title on offer for both sides. Mumbai hold the slight advantage ahead of the final courtesy of having beaten the defending champions thrice over the course of the IPL 2019 campaign. In three previous IPL finals between the two sides, it is Mumbai who have enjoyed greater success with two victories. However, all that counts for little for Rohit ahead of the summit clash at the Rajiv Gandhi International cricket stadium. “We have to play good cricket,” the Mumbai skipper stated on the eve of the IPL final. “For us as a team, it’s important to focus on the day, and think about how we can win the game rather than what has happened in the past, what our team or the opposition has done. For us, as long as I’m concerned, the focus will be on the game and how we can play a good one. MI's recent H2H record against CSK is astonishing & is evidence of how a team can exploit a match-up. Overall MI have won 17 of their 29 matches v CSK. They've won 7 of the last 8 (despite having lost 6 of the 8 tosses) & have won six in a row in fortress Chepauk. #IPL #MIvCSK — Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) May 8, 2019 “We will not focus on what has happened in the past, who has won trophies how many times etc. We have to treat this as another match and that is what we have done through the tournament.” Having beaten CSK in the first Qualifier, Mumbai Indians have enjoyed a four-day break ahead of Sunday’s final but Rohit is not worried about any disruption in the team’s momentum. “We have been on the road for a while, we were playing back to back games,” Rohit said. “We are fortunate to have finished on the top of the table, qualify in the first play-off and get three to four days break. Everyone needed one. We could rejuvenate, come back together as a group and get together better and move forward. “I don’t think it’s a momentum breaker to have three to four days off. In fact, I look at it in a positive way.” Know more about Sport360 Application<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