After numerous speculations and obstacles amid coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to begin from Saturday (September 19) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).


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The opening match of the 13th season of the cash-rich league will see three-time winner Chennai Super Kings (CSK) taking on defending champion and four-time winners Mumbai Indians at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.


Interestingly, the curtain-raiser of the IPL 2020 will be a repeat of last year's final when Mumbai Indians locked horns with CSK in the summit showdown at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad and clinched a narrow one-run win.


The Chennai-based franchise made an incredible return after their a two-year suspension as wicketkeeper-batsman Dhoni guided CSK to title glory in 2018. 


Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, are the most successful team in the history of the IPL, having won the title on four occasions. 


Earlier, Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jawyawardena had confirmed that skipper Rohit Sharma will open the batting with South Africa’s Quinton De Kock. 


Meanwhile, the match will also see the return of former wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni in action for the first time since India's semi-final clash against New Zealand in the ICC Cricket World Cup in June 2019.


MI vs CSK, Dream11 team prediction:


Wicketkeeper: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain)


Batsmen: Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Quinton De Kock, Shane Watson, Francois Du Plessis


All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja


Bowlers: Krunal Pandya, Piyush Chawla, Jasprit Bumrah, Deepak Chahar


Probable Playing XIs:


Mumbai Indians XI: Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, SuryaKumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Krunal Pandya,Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard/Nathan Coulter-Nile, Dhawal Kulkarni, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah


Chennai Super Kings XI: Shane Watson, Francois Du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Piyush Chawla, Deepak Chahar, Lungi Ngidi / Imran Tahir


The two squads are as follows:


Chennai Super Kings: Narayan Jagadeesan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KM Asif , Ravindra Jadeja, M Vijay, MS Dhoni, Josh Hazlewood ,Kedar Jadhav, Harbhajan Singh, Karn Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Imran Tahir , Deepak Chahar, Faf du Plessis, Shardul Thakur, Mitchell Santner, Dwayne Bravo, Lungi Ngidi, Sam Curran, Monu Kumar, Shane Watson, Sai Kishore


Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Sherfane Rutherford, Suryakumar Yadav, Anmolpreet Singh, Chris Lynn , Saurabh Tiwary, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell McClenaghan, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Mohsin Khan, Prince Balwant Rai Singh, Digvijay Deshmukh, Hardik Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Anukul Roy, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Ishan Kishan, Quinton de Kock, Aditya Tare


The clash will begin at 7.30 p.m IST and it will take place in the absence of fans amid COVID-19 pandemic.The match will be telecast on Star Sports Network, while the live streaming of the matches will also be available on Star’s streaming application Hotstar.