IPL 2023: All Time Greatest Playing 11 for CSK vs MI Matches

MS Dhoni to lead as well as keep as we look at the all time joint best IPL playing 11 for CSK vs MI. 

If we talk about the most successful franchises in IPL, there is no debate on the topic with MI and CSK taking the cherries. While Mumbai Indians have won the IPL the most number of times with five trophies to their name, Chennai Super Kings aren’t far behind with four trophies to their name.

Both teams have given some of the most celebrated cricketers across the world. Be it the most successful captains in IPL, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, or legendary players like Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, Lasith Malinga, Kieron Pollard, etc. These players have made the tournament like IPL what it is today. 

Both teams have faced each other on 37 occasions. While MI have won 21 times, CSK have won 16 times. Surprisingly, MI have a good record against CSK at Chepauk with six wins and two losses. Having said that, MI are set to take on CSK in the second round of IPL 2023 in Chennai this Saturday after the first round belonged to CSK. 

So, as we wait for the match to begin, wouldn’t it be interesting to look at the glorious 11 players to have played the CSK vs MI matches? So, in this article, we would look at the all-time joint best playing 11 for MI vs CSK matches in IPL. Please note, we shall select the playing 11 keeping a maximum of four overseas players in the team. 

All-time Combined Best IPL  Playing 11 – MI vs CSK 

Openers: Dwayne Smith & Rohit Sharma 

The El Clasico of IPL, MI vs CSK has seen a lot of quality openers playing against each other. This includes the likes of Rohit Sharma, Dwayne Smith, Sachin Tendulkar, Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Faf du Plessis, etc. But the ones that have impressed the most are Rohit Sharma and Dwayne Smith.

Rohit Sharma has had good success while playing against the Chennai Super Kings. He has scored 700 runs from 26 innings at an average of 29.2 and a strike rate of 129.4. What’s more, Rohit has scored 7 fifties in these 26 innings, which is the most by any player from both the teams.

Similarly, Smith has 415 runs from just 13 innings with an average of 34.5 and a strike rate of 137.9. Compare this to Sachin, whose numbers aren’t bad, but not as good as Smith’s. Sachin has scored 368 runs from 12 innings at an average of 36.8 and a strike rate of 119.5. Smith’s aggressive numbers get him an edge over Sachin. 

Middle-order: Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu & MS Dhoni

Coming to the middle order, we have two CSKians, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni and a part-CSK part-MI player, Ambati Rayudu. Suresh Raina has the most number of runs in MI vs CSK matches. He has scored 710 runs in just 30 innings at a decent average of 29.6 and a strike rate of 141.7. 

MS Dhoni seems to be the most successful CSK batter in CSK vs MI clashes. The captain of the squad has scored 653 runs from 29 innings at an average of 36.3 and a good strike rate of 133.3. Meanwhile, Rayudu hasn’t been bad either with 646 runs from 30 innings at an average of 26.9 and a strike rate of 127.9.  

All-rounders: Kieron Pollard, Ravindra Jadeja & Dwayne Bravo

Coming to the top all-rounders to have played in MI vs CSK clashes, look no other than Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, and Ravindra Jadeja. While Pollard and Bravo seem to have fulfilled the criteria of being a perfect all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja has been more successful as a bowling all-rounder. 

Overall, Pollard has scored 583 runs from 23 innings at an outstanding strike rate of 171. He has also taken 14 wickets from 16 innings; thus making a mark in both the areas. Similarly, Bravo has scored 362 runs from 22 innings at a good strike rate of 136. Whereas in the bowling, Bravo is the leading wicket-taker with 35 wickets to his name from 26 innings. 

Finally, Ravindra Jadeja, the bowling all-rounder has taken 19 wickets from 24 innings at a decent average of 27.9 and an economy rate of 8.3. In addition, in the batting department, Jadeja has scored 171 runs from 17 innings with a decent strike rate of 106. Surprisingly, Harbhajan has more runs than Jadeja in MI vs CSk clashes with 180 runs under his belt. 

Bowlers: Harbhajan Singh, Mohit Sharma & Lasith Malinga

Finally, talking about the best bowlers to have played in MI vs CSK clashes, we have one Mumbai Indians bowler Lasith Malinga, a part-MI part-CSK bowler Harbhajan Singh and a CSK bowler, Mohit Sharma. Other than these three, some other bowlers who have been good include Jasprit Bumrah, R. Ashwin, Deepak Chahar, Pragyan Ojha, etc. 

You could be surprised to see Mohit Sharma’a name above Jasprit Bumrah, but if we compare the numbers irrespective of the capability, Mohit has been better. Overall, Mohit has taken 15 wickets from 11 innings at an average of 21.3 and an economy rate of 8.1. In comparison, Numrah has taken 12 wickets from 14 innings at an average of 34.6 and an economy rate of 7.7.  

Finally, the bowling duo of Bhajji and Malinga have been the second and third-highest wicket-taker with 31 wickets to Malinga and 26 wickets to Harbhajan. Malinga has taken his 31 wickets from just 21 innings at a good economy rate of 7.2. Whereas Harbhajan has taken 26 wickets from 26 innings at a good economy rate of 6.5. 

All Time Joint Best Playing 11 for CSK vs MI Matches in IPL:

Rohit Sharma, Dwayne Smith, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni [c&wk], Kieron Pollard, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Harbhajan Singh, Mohit Sharma & Lasith Malinga

So, that’s about the combined best playing 11 for CSK vs MI matches in IPL. The playing 11 looks a strong one if played together. Apart from the ones mentioned above, the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Matthew Hayden, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, and Michael Hussey have been good too.  

Thanks for reading! What’s your all time joint best IPL playing 11 for CSK vs MI? Please email your comments to business@cricalytics.com

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