IPL 2020 Begins! Dhoni Wins Toss, Puts Mumbai Indians in To Bat

Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni won the toss and put defending champions Mumbai Indians in to bat for the opening match of the 13th Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, on Saturday, 19 September.

Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Sam Curran, and Lungi Ngidi are last year finalists CSK’s four overseas players while Mumbai Indians have filled their slots with Quinton de Kock, Keiron Pollard, James Pattinson, and Trent Boult.

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma said that he, too, would have opted to bowl.

On his decision to bowl first, Dhoni said, “In the late evening you get dew. They water the wicket to keep it good condition, so it tends to be tacky at the start.”

The match is a repeat of the 2019 final which MI won to clinch their fourth title. However, Dhoni said that his side is not seeking revenge for their loss. “Being a gentleman's game you don't think about revenge, you think about the mistakes you made,” he said.

This is Dhoni’s first competitive cricket match since India's semi-final exit against New Zealand at the 2019 World Cup.

Playing XI

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (capt), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, James Pattinson, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah

Chennai Super Kings: Shane Watson, Murali Vijay, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (captain, wicketkeeper), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Piyush Chawla, Deepak Chahar, Sam Curran, Lungi Ngidi

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