Mumbai Indians take on Chennai Super Kings at Wankhede

MUMBAI: After being derailed by Kings XI Punjab for the second time this season, the MS Dhoni-driven Chennai express will roll into Mumbai Indians' bastion, otherwise called the Wankhede, to set the record straight on more than one count.
For starters, when they take on the reigning champs on what promises to be a Saturday night humdinger, the two-time champions Super Kings, will look to go all out and demonstrate that the 44-run defeat suffered primarily due to the freakish talent of Glenn Maxwell, was nothing more than a bump in what had been a smooth ride till Wednesday.
The reverse was perhaps due to the fact that Dhoni overvalued his team's ability to whittle down totals and overestimated his bowlers' skills to restrict the Kings XI batting.
That of course will have no bearing on Mumbai Indians, who have quickly forgotten their Arabian misery to register two morale-boosting wins, first against Kings XI Punjab and then Royal Challengers Bangalore, to keep their slate clean at home for 10 games now.
The last time they lost a game in their citadel was in 2012, when Kolkata Knight Riders stunned them. Since then, it has been a one-way street for the blue and golden brigade.
The Rohit Sharma-led side also holds the bragging rights when it comes to the rivalry between the two well-oiled units. Head to head, Mumbai have inflicted more losses on CSK (9) than any other franchise in the 16 times that they have played each other in the last seven years.
CSK were bowled out for a paltry 79 on their last visit here in 2013 much against the run of play. The manner in which their famed batting had capitulated had become a talking point in a season that put cricket to shame.
The defeat and other off-field distractions that have plagued CSK since then, of course, will not play on the minds of the batting line up that has unearthed a destructive opening pair in Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum. The duo averages close to 60 after eight games.
McCullum's assault on the Mumbai bowlers in Dubai last month, where he blasted a 53-ball 71 to carry his team home will rankle the Mumbai players, although the think-tank has done well to add medium pacer Praveen Kumar in the mix.