2 weeks Ago By Firstpost
The second El Clasico of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) is set to take place this Sunday, 20 April, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. This match will be huge for both teams, especially for MS Dhoni-led CSK, who are fighting to stay alive in the playoff race. All eyes will be on Dhoni, who is dealing with injury concerns, as he was seen limping upon arrival in Mumbai ahead of the much-anticipated game.
Dhoni has been struggling with knee issues for the past couple of years, and there are concerns that the problem may have resurfaced. Chennai Super Kings have had a rough ride in IPL 2025 so far. They finally ended their five-match losing streak with a win over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Dhoni’s second match back as captain.
But they still have just 4 points from 7 matches, and their Net Run Rate (NRR) of -1.276 is the worst among all teams. To qualify for the playoffs, a team usually needs 16 points in the IPL, at least as per trends in previous seasons.
CSK can still reach a maximum of 18 points if they win all of their remaining games. But that’s easier said than done, especially when the next opponent is a high-flying Mumbai Indians. Mumbai Indians started IPL 2025 horribly, winning just 1 of their first 5 games, but they’ve now won two matches in a row and are gaining momentum.
Captain Hardik Pandya is leading from the front with both bat and ball. Pandya is joint-second in the wicket-taking charts as of 18 April with 11 wickets alongside Delhi Capitals’ Kuldeep Yadav. He is also striking the ball at nearly 170, making him a complete match-winner.
CSK will have to come up with something special to stop him at the iconic Wankhede. While CSK have a strong overall record against MI, they don’t enjoy playing at the Wankhede Stadium, which is considered MI’s fortress, where they most recently thrashed IPL 2024 finalists and one of the most dreaded batting sides, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). CSK have played 12 matches against MI at the Wankhede and have won just 5, while losing 7.
However, the last time CSK played MI at Wankhede, they crushed the home favourites by 20 runs. That is when CSK scored their highest-ever score of 206 at this venue. To be fair, MI were having a nightmarish campaign and were struggling at the bottom of the points table, where they eventually finished the season.
That is not the case this year. Even though they are struggling, MI are still well ahead of CSK. Moreover, the pitch at Wankhede usually helps batters and CSK’s batting unit has not looked threatening this season.
They haven’t chased down more than 180 runs since the IPL 2019 season. They have already lost their regular captain and key batter, Ruturaj Gaikwad, to injury. Gaikwad has been a vital cog in CSK’s top-order batting over the past few years.
Meanwhile, their middle-order players like Vijay Shankar, Shivam Dube, and Ravindra Jadeja have consistently failed to fire this season. CSK vs MI (Overall) While the rivalry is close, Mumbai Indians have a slight edge over Chennai Super Kings in head-to-head history. MI lead the head-to-head with 21 wins, while CSK have 19 wins in 40 matches.
However, with Dhoni back calling the shots, one can never count out CSK. Dhoni has been looking good with the bat again this season as he has scored 130 runs in 7 innings at a strike rate of nearly 160 thus far. In their last match against LSG, he scored an unbeaten 26 off just 11 balls at a strike rate of 236 and helped his team seal the win.
But heading into Sunday’s El Clasico, the momentum is clearly with Hardik Pandya’s MI. Pandya too sealed the win for MI in their recent game against SRH, where he scored 29 off 9 balls at 233.33.
If CSK don’t fix their issues quickly, especially their powerplay batting, they could be in trouble once again at Wankhede..
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