Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to bat first against Chennai Super Kings in the El Clasico of the Indian Premier League at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

This is a crucial clash for MI, who are in a do-or-die situation as they fight to stay alive in the competition.

Mumbai have made a few notable changes. Rohit Sharma is still unavailable and misses out once again. Young leg-spinner Raghu Sharma has been handed his maiden IPL cap and will be making his debut tonight, while Krish Bhagat returns to the playing XI.

Meanwhile, CSK continue to be without MS Dhoni, who is yet to feature this season. Ramakrishna Ghosh comes into the XI in place of Gurkapneet Singh, while Prashant Veer replaces Akeal Hosein in a move that comes as a surprise.

Chennai Super Kings: 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 Subs: Kartik Sharma, Akeal Hosein, Sarfaraz Khan, Matthew Short, Gurjapneet Singh

Mumbai Indians: Will Jacks, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Robin Minz, Krish Bhagat, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar

Impact Subs: Raj Bawa, Raghu Sharma, Mayank Rawat, Shardul Thakur, Ashwani Kumar

CSK vs MI: Captains at the toss

Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya admitted that the team has been in a must-win situation for a while now and the pressure has only increased heading into this clash. He stressed that the focus remains on playing their best cricket rather than overthinking the situation, while also highlighting that the dressing room environment continues to stay positive and professional.

“Oh yeah, I think for the last eight games, it has been that. Now even more. We have to just come out and kind of play our best cricket and see what happens. It's always great. We are professionals. We are supposed to play good cricket. We are supposed to turn up every time.”

Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad acknowledged that the pitch was slightly tricky in the previous game but expressed confidence in his team’s mindset. He emphasised the importance of sticking to basics in pressure situations and urged his players to trust the process rather than getting overwhelmed by the must-win nature of the contest.

“A bit tough track to bat on last game, but confidence-wise, everyone is really up there. Well, nothing, just stick to your process, keep it really simple, try and do the basics right. Yes, it's a pressure, it's a must-win game, but at the end, you have to do your process right and the result will come.”