Their campaign turning from bad to worse, Chennai Super Kings are expected to try out a few of their younger players when they take on defending champions Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League on Friday.

Though skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni conceded after the loss against Rajasthan Royals that the season might be already over them, CSK can still get to 14 points if they win their remaining four games, giving them an outside chance of making the playoffs.

As head coach Stephen Fleming pointed out, the ageing squad may have finally “run out of juice” after doing well over the past two seasons when they won in 2018 and reached the final the following year.

Things have gone downhill for CSK since their win over MI in the tournament opener on November 19.

The team received a hammering at the hands of Rajasthan Royals and would be without the services of the injured Dwayne Bravo, who is out of the tournament.

The Super Kings batsmen struggled against Rajasthan Royals and it remains to be seen if the untested players in the side get their chance as indicated by Dhoni after the drubbing on Monday.

Dhoni himself has not been at his best along with the others barring Faf du Plessis. The team’’s persistence with a struggling Kedar Jadhav has come in for a lot of flak and it needs to be seen if he makes way for either N Jagadeesan or Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Head-to-head

Mat CSK wins MI wins CSK win% MI win%
CSK vs MI 29 12 17 41.37 58.63

CSK results in IPL 2020

Match Day/Date/Time Venue Result Total points 
MI vs CSK 19 Sep, Sat (1930) Abu Dhabi CSK won by 5 wickets 2
RR vs CSK 22 Sep, Tue (1930) Sharjah CSK lost by 16 runs 2
CSK vs DC 25 Sep, Fri (1930) Dubai CSK lost by 44 runs 2
CSK vs SRH 2 Oct, Fri (1930) Dubai CSK lost by 7 runs 2
KXIP vs CSK 4 Oct, Sun (1930) Dubai CSK won by 10 wickets 4
KKR vs CSK 7 Oct, Wed (1930) Abu Dhabi CSK lost by 10 runs 4
CSK vs RCB 10 Oct, Sat (1930) Dubai CSK lost by 37 runs 4
SRH vs CSK 13 Oct, Tue (1930) Dubai CSK won by 20 runs 6
DC vs CSK 17 Oct, Sat (1930) Sharjah CSK lost by 5 wickets 6
CSK vs RR 19 Oct, Mon (1930) Abu Dhabi CSK lost by 7 wickets 6

MI results in IPL 2020

Match Day/Date/Time Venue Result Total points
MI vs CSK 19 Sep, Sat (1930) Abu Dhabi MI lost by 5 wickets 0
KKR vs MI 23 Sep, Wed (1930) Abu Dhabi MI won by 49 runs 2
RCB vs MI 28 Sep, Mon (1930) Dubai MI lost in Super Over  2
KXIP vs MI 1 Oct, Thu (1930) Abu Dhabi MI won by 48 runs 4
MI vs SRH 4 Oct, Sun (1530) Sharjah MI won by 34 runs 6
MI vs RR 6 Oct, Tue (1930) Abu Dhabi MI won by 57 runs 8
MI vs DC 11 Oct, Sun (1930) Abu Dhabi MI won by 5 wickets 10
MI vs KKR 16 Oct, Fri (1930) Abu Dhabi MI won by 8 wickets 12
MI vs KXIP 18 Oct, Sun (1930) Dubai MI lost in Super Over 12

However, they would be up against a formidable MI side which won five games in a row before Kings XI Punjab halted the juggernaut, turning the tables in a double Super Over on Sunday night.

The four-time IPL champions have been in ominous form and the varied bowling attack could prove a challenge for the CSK batters, who are low on confidence.

At Sharjah, which was a tough venue for bowlers to start with, things seem to have changed with the wicket slowing down and sort of evened out things. Also, the MI batting line-up has been in good nick with Quinton de Kock in splendid form while Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan have had their moments.

That’s not all, the power-hitting abilities of Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya have rescued MI when the big guns have not fired. Krunal Pandya has underlined his utility with some crucial cameos and tight spells in tandem with leggie Rahul Chahar.

The Mumbai bowling unit has been doing well but the think-tank may consider bringing in James Pattinson for Nathan Coulter-Nile, who has proved expensive.

A well-rounded and consistent Mumbai Indians unit could provide a huge challenge for an under-fire CSK battling to salvage some pride.

Two points on Friday match would take Rohit Sharma’s men closer to sealing a playoffs berth while the Super Kings, who are theoretically still in with a chance, would aim to finish strongly in what has been a nightmare of a season so far.

CSK squad

Batsmen Bowlers All-rounders Wicketkeepers
Ruturaj Gaikwad Lungi Ngidi Dwayne Bravo MS Dhoni
Faf du Plessis Deepak Chahar Ravindra Jadeja N Jagadeesan
Shane Watson Karn Sharma Mitchell Santner
Ambati Rayudu Imran Tahir Sam Curran
M Vijay Shardul Thakur
Kedar Jadhav Monu Kumar
KM Asif
R. Sai Kishore
Piyush Chawla
Josh Hazlewood

MI squad

Batsmen Bowlers All-rounders Wicketkeepers
Rohit Sharma Dhawal Kulkarni Hardik Pandya Ishan Kishan
Sherfane Rutherford Jasprit Bumrah Jayant Yadav Quinton de Kock
Suryakumar Yadav James Pattinson Kieron Pollard Aditya Tare
Anmolpreet Singh Mitchell McClenaghan Krunal Pandya
Chris Lynn Rahul Chahar Anukul Roy
Saurabh Tiwary Trent Boult Digvijay Deshmukh
Nathan Coulter-Nile Prince Balwant Rai Singh
Mohsin Khan

Match starts at 7.30 pm IST and will be live on Star Sports network / Disney+ Hotstar

(With PTI inputs)