Suresh Raina Says Mumbai Indians Has Upper Hand Over MS Dhoni-Led Chennai Super Kings. Reason Is...

Former India cricketer and four-time IPL winner Suresh Raina believes Mumbai Indians (MI), with their formidable power-hitters, have a significant edge over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of the re-match between the two teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, to be played at the Wankhede Stadium here on Sunday evening. CSK had emerged victorious over MI by four wickets in their season opener at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on March 23. But after that, both teams that have bagged five IPL trophies each have been in the bottom half of the points table – MI at the seventh spot and CSK rooted in the bottom place.

“MI looks very, very strong. They won a very, very good game in Delhi. Against CSK's top-order, Trent Boult's role will be critical because he bowls a good line and has a good yorker. Tilak Varma is in a different gun form. So, here I feel MI has the upper hand over CSK because they have a lot of power hitters. Karn Sharma is in good flow and has played for CSK as well.”

“This game is important for both teams because the matches they win from now onwards will help them climb up in the points table. It is a very, very important match for CSK, as MI are already coming after wins. If CSK wins, then the league stage pool will become a lot more interesting,” said Raina, a JioStar expert, to IANS in a virtual interaction, ahead of the upcoming week of the tournament, starting from Sunday, labelled as “Revenge Week”.

Raina also felt CSK's bowling attack, spearheaded by left-arm wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad (12 wickets), left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed (11 wickets), and right-arm fast-bowler Matheesha Pathirana, shaped as crucial figures for their success against MI. “The ones who can prove to be true ace players