Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, the two most successful teams in IPL, meet at Chepauk for two crucial points today. Both are struggling in the bottom half of the table and are looking to return to winning ways.
Apart from a survival battle, both teams are waiting for a return of their former captains MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, who have defined a historic rivalry between two teams. Both are expected to return to action today and boost teams' revival for the playoff hopes.
Also read: Will Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni play today's CSK vs MI El Clasico? Here’s the massive update
IPL 2026 Match 44: CSK vs MI Live Score and Match Updates
Ryan Rickelton fights back
Ryan Rickelton smashes Mukesh Choudhary for two back-to-back sixes to balance the game in the third over. A good counterattack from the Proteas batter.
Ryan Rickelton - 13 off 8 balls
Naman Dhir - 6 off 5 balls
MI - 20/1 in 3 overs
Anhsul Kamboj strikes early
Mukesh Choudhary gives away just 1 run in the opening over and Anshul Kamboj strikes on the second ball of the second over.
Will Jacks goes for a big shot over the covers, but finds debutant Ramakrishna Ghosh, who takes a stunning diving catch at deep third. A brilliant start from CSK bowlers.
Will Jacks scored 1 run off 5 balls. Naman Dhir comes in at No. 3.
MI - 1/1 in 1.2 overs
Match begins
Openers Will Jacks and Ryan Rickelton are out in the middle to begin MI's innings.
Mukesh Choudhary to bowl the first over for CSK.
The game is on at Chepauk...
Match begins
Openers Will Jacks and Ryan Rickelton are out in the middle to begin MI's innings.
Mukesh Choudhary to bowl the first over for CSK.
The game is on at Chepauk...
Mumbai Indians XI - No Ashwani Kumar
Mumbai Indians drop Ashwani Kumar for Krish Bhagat. Raghu Sharma also gets his first IPL cap, but starts from the bench.
MI XI (batting first): Will Jacks, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Naman Dhir, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Robin Minz, Trent Boult, Krish Bhagat, Jasprit Bumrah, Allah Ghazanfar
Impact players: Raj Bawa, Raghu Sharma, Mayank Rawat, Shardul Thakur, Ashwani Kumar
Chennai Super Kings XI - No Sarfraz, Akeal, Dhoni
Chennai Super Kings make two big changes to their playing XI today. Prashant Veer returns, replacing Akeal Hosein. Maharashtra's fast bowler Ramakrishna Ghosh replaces Gurjanpreet Singh.
CSK XI (bowling first): Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Urvil Patel, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Prashant Veer, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary
Impact players: Kartik Sharma, Akeal Hosein, Sarfaraz Kham, Matt Short, Gurjapneet SIngh
Toss time
Captains Hardik Pandya and Ruturaj Gaikwad are in the middle for the toss at Chepauk.
Hardik wins the toss and Mumbai Indians opt to bat first today
Raghu Sharma makes his IPL debut, Krish Bhagat replaces Ashwani Kumar for Mumbai Indians
Raghu Sharma gets maiden IPL cap
Raghu Sharma, the 33-year-old spinner from Punjab, gets his maiden IPL cap from Mumbai Indians camp.
Head-to-Head Record
There is much difference in this contest. Mumbai Indians lead the head-to-head battle with 21 wins in 40 matches in the IPL. Chennai Super Kings, however, lead the recent meetings, winning four of their last five, and seven of their last ten matches against Mumbai.
- Matches played - 40
- CSK won - 19
- MI won - 21
- NR - 0
Mumbai Indians Preview
Mumbai Indians' hopes for the playoffs are all but over with just two wins in their first eight matches in IPL 2026. They need to win all of their remaining six games, and also depend on favorable results from other teams.
Hardik Pandya's side started the campaign by chasing down a big target of 221 against KKR at Wankhede Stadium. They went on to suffer four successive defeats before beating Gujarat Titans by 99 runs. However, they failed to build any momentum, losing by 103 runs against CSK and failing to defend 243 against PBKS, both at home.
Rohit Sharma's absence is hurting the team with inconsistent batting performances from Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya. With the ball, Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Bould have clinched just two wickets each, and Hardik struggling with four wickets.
MI will require a much-improved performances from all units to take down their rivals today.
Chennai Super Kings Preview
It has been a mixed start to Chennai Super Kings' campaign in IPL 2026. They failed to win their opening three matches, but made a strong comeback, winning three of their next four games. However, they suffered a defeat in their last match, losing their momentum again.
In their last game, CSK were restricted to 158 total against Gujarat Titans. Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad registered his maiden fifty of the season, but didn't get any support. Bowlers also struggled, as GT registered an easy chase, winning by eight wickets.
With three wins in eight matches, CSK are placed seventh in the points table. They are already six points behind fourth-placed Rajasthan, so a defeat today could crush their slim hopes for playoffs.
Are MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma playing today?
Both MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma participated in practice sessions yesterday and showed no signs of struggles with their respective injuries. Both have reportedly recovered and are almost fully fit to make their return.
Mumbai's management has been cautious with Rohit's return. Before the start of MI's last game against SRH, Hardik Pandya revealed that Rohit is still not fully fit and it will take a couple of games before we see him back in action.
On the other hand, it is reported that MS Dhoni might make his return today, having recovered fully from his calf injury. However, the managemt might take a late call on Dhoni's inclusion, considering the importance of the match.
Chepauk hosts IPL El Classico today
Hello everyone, welcome to Sports Yaari's live coverage of today's IPL game in Chennai.
Chennai Super Kings take on Mumbai Indians in the battle of the titans at MA Chidambaram Stadium. Both CSK and MI are in desperate need of two points to stay alive in the playoff race in IPL 2026.
So, stay tuned for live scores and regular match updates here...