IPL 2026: MI win toss, elect to bat first against CSK

CHENNAI: Mumbai Indians (MI) won the toss and elected to bat first against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match on Saturday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, MI skipper Hardik Pandya said that the pitch looks good and the team wants to give their batters another chance to score runs after their last match, in which they scored 243-5 while batting first, but eventually lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad. He emphasised that the team needs to play their best cricket, stay positive despite challenges, and fight hard.

“Looks like a good track. The way we batted in the last game, we want to give another opportunity to our batters to score runs. We have to play our best cricket and see what happens. The mood has been good, it’s been challenging. We have to fight. It’s about playing for pride as well,” Pandya said at the toss presentation.

TOSS @mipaltan have won the toss and will bat first against @ChennaiIPL

Updates https://t.co/VVAjldiiC0#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #CSKvMI pic.twitter.com/Ad8xV5Adku

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 2, 2026

MI and CSK, both the five-time IPL champions, have performed way below their reputations. Chennai Super Kings have struggled this season, winning only three of their first eight matches and needing a strong comeback under Ruturaj Gaikwad to stay competitive. Currently, they are placed seventh on the IPL 2026 points table.

The Mumbai Indians have performed even worse, sitting near the bottom of the table, in ninth place, after six losses in their eight matches so far. Led by Hardik Pandya, they still have a slim chance to recover and push for playoff qualification and will look to stage a comeback.

Chennai Super Kings: Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Urvil Patel, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Prashant Veer, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary.

CSK impact sub options:  Kartik Sharma, Akeal Hosein, Sarfaraz Kham, Matt Short, Gurjapneet Singh

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

MI impact sub options: Raj Bawa, Raghu Sharma, Mayank Rawat, Shardul Thakur, Ashwani Kumar. (ANI)