A little over four-and-a-half months since the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season was suspended owing to the COVID-19 second wave in India, the season is set to resume on Sunday, this time in the UAE. The Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians (MI), record five-time winners of the tournament and champions in the last two editions, will take on MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on the opening day of the UAE leg at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. When the season had been suspended in May, CSK were second in the IPL points table with 10 points from seven games while the title holders were a couple of points behind in fourth.
Having won four of their seven games, MI will look to bolster their playoff hopes with a win on Sunday, which will put them level on points with CSK.
With skipper Rohit joining MI’s training after he completed a mandatory six-day quarantine, having returned from the cancelled Manchester Test against England, the side has received a timely boost ahead of the UAE leg opener.