We have a mammoth clash in Match 33 of IPL 2022 this afternoon. These two teams have won nine IPL titles between them (including the last five straight). The Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians find themselves in unfamiliar territory coming into this match, with the two heavyweights stranded in the bottom two places of the table with just one win between them.
We have a betting preview for this huge IPL encounter.
Betting Preview
Rohit Sharma’s team are experiencing their longest IPL losing streak (six defeats). It is not difficult to pinpoint their struggles this year, as they rank last for runs conceded per match (180.50), total wickets taken (31), bowling economy (9.60 per over), runs allowed per wicket (34.94) and second last for 6s conceded (8.83 per match).
To be fair, Mumbai’s batting department has been equally disappointing. Starting at the top of the order with Rohit Sharma who is currently having his worst-ever IPL campaign (114 runs at an average of just 19.00), including a highest score of just 41. Across his 15-year IPL career, Sharma has never gone through a season where he has never failed to reach fifty.
However, they have a superstar in the making in Dewald Brevis who starred with the bat in their previous match against the Punjab Kings in Pune. He could once again showcase his talent. The 18-year-old smashed 49 off 25 balls, hitting Punjab leg-spinner Rahul Chahar for a four and then four consecutive sixes in an over that went for 29.
Seven wins from their last eight remaining matches. That is the likely scenario that faces Chennai if they are to retain their IPL crown. We shouldn’t look that far ahead, however, they first need to ensure they overcome their recent poor showing against Mumbai, a team they have only beaten twice across the last 11 H2Hs.
With Deepak Chahar officially ruled out for the remainder of the season, it certainly looks like CSK got their fast bowling stocks terribly wrong in the offseason auction. With Josh Hazlewood & Shardul Thakur no longer with the franchise, the likes of Tushar Deshpande, Chris Jordan, Adam Milne and Mukesh Choudary have failed to make a positive impression. It still baffles me how Jordan starts ahead of Dwaine Pretorius considering how well the South African has done so far. Pretorius has fared better with the ball in the two games he’s played, having an economy of 6.80.
This is a tough one to call so I wouldn’t suggest betting on a winner for this one.
Key Stat
Mumbai have a 12-5 H2H record when winning the toss.
The average first innings score this year at DY Patil Sports Academy is 172 compared to an all-time average of 156.
CSK are averaging 42 runs in the powerplay this year, compared to 47 last season.
Suryakumar Yadav averages 30.25 in his IPL career, but that number jumps to 47.00 when batting at five.
Gaikwad averages 54.1 in the powerplay since IPL 2020, the most among openers
Players to Watch
Kieron Pollard has now gone 12 IPL innings having failed to pass 25 runs, which ranks as the longest stretch in his 184-game IPL career having failed to pass such a mark. Ambati Rayudu has had ten innings against Mumbai, two of which saw him pass fifty (with three Not Outs), while his strike rate of 142.22 is his best against any current IPL franchise.
Best Bets
Suggested Bet: S Yadav to be MI’s top batsman 3.75
Suggested Bet: Highest individual score to be under 68.5 at 1.86
Value Bet: S Yadav to be Player of the Match 9.00